I Can Feel A Hot One
by 99gimmicks
Summary: "Can we do this?" I whispered. He looked at me with a determined look on his face and picked up the pen, signing his name. I silently signed it and the lawyer went over the rest of the details. I had my answer. FULL SUMMARY INSIDE.
1. Chapter 1: Lost In My Mind

**BRIEF A/N: **Hello! This is my first story on this account, and I hope you like it! I've clutched onto this idea for a while, and I've seen other people write stories like this, but I never really liked them so I'm writing one myself! Enjoy!

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><p><strong>Summary: <strong>A terrible accident flips both Edward and Bella's worlds upside down. Now they're stuck. Both having to take on responsibilities they don't even think they're ready for and making decisions they never thought they'd have to make. "Carmen and Eleazar knew what they were doing, Edward. They would have never left us with this responsibility if they didn't believe we could do it." – "I guess. I mean how hard could it be?"

Join our favorite couple as they discover the ups and downs of love, destiny, and dirty diapers.

**Rated: M**

**AH - Bella/Edward**

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><p><strong>BPOV<strong>

The rain pelted my face as I ran through the hospital parking lot, praying to fucking god that this was some kind of sick joke. That the two bodies of my sister and her husband wouldn't be lying on two metal tables, white sheets hung loosely over their bodies. Praying to god that they got the wrong ID and it was a couple that was identical to the newlyweds. As terrible as I knew that sounded, I still prayed for it to be true. I almost slammed into the automatic doors, but they opened just in time. Today was a bad day to wear heels. My eyes scanned the hectic ER before stopping at the sign in desk.

"Bella Swan. I'm here to…" it caught in my throat. _ID my sister. _I tried to swallow it down but it wouldn't budge. The knot in my windpipe wouldn't let me speak. The nurse only nodded sadly before bringing me back into the room they were in. There were two beds in the room, and lumps under white sheets indicated the very obvious.

"Ma'am. Are you ready?" I looked over at the nurse next to me, nodding. He walked over towards the left bed, and I followed.

"Okay." I whispered. He pulled the sheet back until it rested on her collar bones. Her caramel colored hair was packed with dirt, and half of her natural ringlets were bunched up and colored with dark, dried up blood. It was my sister, only it wasn't. Her face looked cold and pale, unlike her usual rosy and bright complexion. She had a small smile on her face, only it wasn't the happy, upbeat smile she would always throw my way. Her eyes were open, and they held absolutely no life at all. I felt the sob rising in my throat, and failed to smother it as it burst from my lips. I looked to the nurse and he nodded. As he started to raise the sheet back up I stopped him, and reached my hand up to close her eyes. I snapped my hand back almost immediately after. Her skin was freezing; So cold it felt like an ice cube. I sunk down into the chair next to her bed and let the sobs overtake my body. I didn't know how long I had been sitting there. It felt like years before the nurse came back with the paper work. He handed me a clipboard and went over things I couldn't comprehend at the moment as I signed my name on the witness sheet. It wasn't until the nurse walked out of the room that I noticed someone else sitting on the opposite side. When I looked his way he got up and walked over to my side of the bed, extending his hand.

"Hi, I'm Edward Cullen. You must be Bella?" his voice was smooth, and it made me want to go to sleep. I shook his hand politely and nodded. There was a moment's pause that lasted a while. Neither of us tried to break it. He sat down on the chair next to me. Carmen had told me many things about Eleazar's best friend. I had briefly met him at their wedding, he was the best man, and I was the maid of honor. He bolted after his toast and I never really saw him again. I knew that he traveled the world for some fancy business of his. I also knew that both of Eleazar's parents were dead and he had no siblings. This explains why he's here instead of family. As I was about to say something, the nurse came back into the room.

"The police want to talk to the both of you." He led us to a private room where two uniformed men stood taut, almost uncomfortable.

"Miss. Swan, Mr. Cullen, I'm very sorry for your loss. At the moment we cannot reach the lawyer in charge of the Reeves' will, but you are the only immediate family we have contact for. This is about their daughter, Marcy…" I didn't hear the rest. Marcy. How could I have forgotten about Marcy. I collapsed into a chair and cried. I couldn't think straight. I was numb. I stared off into space until the cops left. I didn't comprehend anything until Edward shook my shoulders gently. My eyes readjusted and I stared back at him. I had a sudden urge for answers.

"What did he say?" it came out softer than I thought it would. I cleared my throat before trying again. "What did the cop say?" Edward's face looked grim. He sat down in a chair across the room from me, staring at me as if I might shatter. He looked as if he were searching for the right words before he finally spoke.

"Marcy is in foster care at the moment. We'll know more about it tomorrow morning. Officer Joe said that the will states if anything bad were to happen to them, we were to take care of her. If we don't take her, she'd permanently be in foster care. The only person left on Eleazar's side is his Granddad Bill, and he's way too old to take her. Is there anyone on your side?" I thought about Mom and Phil. No. They were entirely too unpredictable. They hop from state to state and never have a permanent residence. The thought of Charlie brought pains to my stomach.

"No." I whispered.

"I have a business to take care of, Bella. What am I going to do? I don't have time for a kid! I'm too young for this shit! But I can't leave Marcy. I know I can't. I wouldn't ever leave her in foster care. I don't have the heart for it." During his entire rant he went from pacing the floor to sitting back in the chair, all the while clutching the bridge of his nose like it had all of the answers, and somehow doing that would help him decide. I smiled at him before clearing my throat.

"You aren't at all what Carmen described you to be." I sat back in my chair and crossed my legs. I thought about our circumstance for a while. My apartment might not be big enough, unless I clean out the studio and turn it into a nursery. I looked up and he was staring at me intently. It wasn't until then that I realized how green his eyes truly were. I shifted my gaze to my shoes.

"I'm going to take her. You don't have to worry about it." My mind had already been made up. I know I might not be very qualified to be a mother, but I knew I couldn't leave her. I wouldn't. She needs me. I looked over just in time to see the hesitance on his face turn to irritation.

"You're not doing it by yourself. As important as my job is to me she comes first." He had a look of desperation that silenced any protests I might have had. I only nodded.

The lawyer walked in at that exact moment with a folder in his hands. He went over the will twice, and unfortunately there was something the police forgot to mention to us.

"Their house?" Edward said incredulously.

"They gave us their house? What about the mortgage?" I felt like my eyes were bugging out of my forehead. The lawyer merely nodded.

"Completely paid off. They handled their money well and they don't owe a penny. Makes sense, doesn't it? I'm sure your bachelor pad isn't fit for a child, Mr. Cullen. And the apartment above your bakery is entirely too small, Miss Swan. It's only fitting." We were both silent.

"If you're going to take her in I need the signatures now." I met Edwards gaze.

"Can we do this?" I whispered. He looked at me with a determined look on his face. He picked up the pen and signed his name, handing it to me afterwards. I silently signed it and the lawyer went over the rest of the details. Marcy would be brought to their…_our_ house in the morning at 9 am.

I had my answer.

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><p><strong>AN: **_REVIEWS ARE LIKE LITTLE CHILDREN AND I WANT THEM IN MY VAN. I HAVE CANDY. COME TO THE DARK SIDE. _

I feel like this is more of a prologue because it's so short but I don't really want to TITLE it as a prologue, you know? so pretend. Anyway. Thanks for reading! Please review and let me know if you like it! I'm thinking that I'm going to update every Wednesday. Yeah. So expect Chapter 2 next Wednesday and stay tuned so we can meet Marcy!


	2. Chapter 2: The Lock Down Denial

**Disclaimer: **_SM owns twilight, I just steal her Barbie's and make them do dirty things._

**A/N:**** I'm going to tell you right now that this is a long ass chapter. Its 3,057 words and 4 pages long on my word doc. So you've been forewarned. Also we learn quite a bit about Bella in this chapter. Read on my chickens.**

**Bpov**

We pulled up to the large, dark house, and even from the outside it felt empty and alone. The car ride from the hospital had been relatively quiet, and the closer we got to the house, the thicker the air got in the car. It had felt like I was suffocating. I didn't know what I had expected. I think I was hoping Carmen would bust out the front door laughing, telling us we've been pranked. But sitting in front of their empty house now was a reality I wasn't ready for.

"I think we should get out." Edward said softly. I looked over at him as he grasped my hand tightly. I only nodded. I didn't trust my mouth to speak. I was afraid that if I tried to say something I would cry, and I was already too exhausted. He was the first to open his door. He came around and opened mine for me. It still took me a minute or two to actually get out of the car. Edward flicked the lights on as he opened the front door. It still looked the same. Her silky brown couches were still filled to the brim with the most comfortable pillows I had ever laid on, and there was a pile of mail sitting on the coffee table. We just stood in the doorway for a few minutes. I was the one to clear my throat first.

"I'll take the couch."

"No, Bella. I'll take the couch. You take the guest room."

"Are you sure?" I was too exhausted to argue. When he nodded I attempted to smile thankfully, but I think it came off as more of a grimace. When I opened the door of the guest room I was reminded of the last time I slept in here. My apartment was in renovation and Carmen had insisted I stay at her place. We made an entire weekend out of it. We drank our body weight in wine and watched sappy romance movies. Smiling at the memory, I took off my heels and pants before curling up under the blankets. I stared off into space and watched our memories play out in front of my eyes. I don't know how much time I spent recalling every single day of our life until I drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

The smell of bacon and coffee woke me out of my deep sleep. I sat up and looked at the clock, shuddering when 7:30am looked back at me. I fell back to the pillows with a groan.

"It's too early." I sighed to the empty room. My eyes wandered and I turned my head towards the shut door. I could hear faint talking, and I jumped out of bed. Throwing on my clothes as fast as possible proved to be quite difficult due to the fact that my arms felt like rubber. I opened the door to the bedroom and followed the sound of hushed talking. I stopped just before the doorway to the kitchen when I heard my name being whispered angrily into the phone.

"Yes, Bella Swan. She's Carmen's sister. Yes-err, No. I know, Rose." His voice rose a little bit but he lowered before speaking again. "I don't know. She owns a bakery." He paused for a second, so I assumed he was waiting for her to finish talking. I twisted my ring around my finger nervously.

"Goddamnit, tell her to mind her own business. I AM doing this. I'm NOT pushing the responsibility all on Bella, EVEN though she offered. Get some goddamn sense into that thick fucking skull of yours, Rosalie. It's like you don't even know me at all!" he practically shouted the last part. I heard him sigh deeply before the phone clattered onto the kitchen counter. I waited a few short moments before deciding to make my presence known. I took a few steps back before making a show of walking into the kitchen. He looked towards me and smiled sheepishly.

"I'm sorry, did I wake you?" I smiled back at him.

"No. I was already awake. I smelled Bacon." He nodded before gesturing to a plate on the counter.

"I didn't know what you liked so I stuck to basic breakfast foods. I can make you something else if you want." I only smiled at him.

"This is good, thank you." I poured myself a quick cup of coffee before sitting down at the table. He didn't say anything else so neither did I, and we sat in silence as we ate. My mind started filling with dread as I looked around the empty house. Suddenly I wasn't as hungry. I got up quickly and threw away what little I had left on my plate. I had to break the silence before I went insane, so I sat back down and looked at Edward.

"Have they called yet?" he took a sip of his coffee before replying.

"They're dropping Marcy off at 9. We need to come up with a plan. When do you work and when do I work. We need to write up schedules of when we're going to be available. Are you going to be moving into this house?-"

"Well we can't just take her away from this house. She needs a stable place to grow up in. All of that bouncing around is not healthy for her dynamic…" I interrupted him, taking a big gulp of my coffee. "Don't you travel a lot for your job? Also we need to talk about dating."

His eyes widened. "I mean our dating life. You can't just bring home a new girl every week…" I shrugged and rolled my eyes at him. He scoffed. He _literally _scoffed.

"The fact that you think I'm that kind of person seriously offends me, Bella." He almost looked hurt.

"Well don't shoot the messenger. It's just what I heard." He shook his head.

"The same goes for you, Bella. You can't just bring home a new guy every night."

"The fact that you think I'm capable of that is truly flattering, but that's not happening _any_ time soon." I looked up and was instantly embarrassed. He merely raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"Why not?" he leaned forward, intrigued. My face felt hot. Why did I even bring any of this up? It's not that I _didn't _date; it's just that I was bad at it.

"I don't date." I shrugged my shoulders again before getting up to pour myself a cup of coffee. I turned around. "Well, anymore. I don't date anymore. I used to. Past tense." Now I was rambling. I turned back around before I could embarrass myself any further.

"Am I allowed to ask why? Do I even want to know?" the tone of his voice irritated me.

"It's not that I can't get a goddamn date." I sat down in front of him, mixing the sugar and creamer into my coffee until it turned a warm light brown. "I just haven't been on a good date in years. My last serious relationship pretty much ruined every guy for me."

"What happened?" I just stared at him and sighed.

"Can we step away from my non-existent dating life and get back on topic?" I pleaded.

He tapped the table. "How about this. We'll play 20 questions. I ask you something, you ask me something. Clearly we know nothing about each other, and we still have…" he looked at his watch. "An hour until Marcy gets here." I sighed, taking a sudden interest in the rim of my coffee mug. I ran my finger along it a few times before sighing again.

"Okay." I looked up at him. "But I'm first." He shrugged one shoulder and nodded.

"Seems fair. Ask away."

What did I want to know about Edward Cullen? That was a loaded question. Somehow I found myself wanting to know everything.

"What's your favorite color?" he rolled his eyes before smiling.

"Blue." He leaned forward.

"What's yours?"

"That counts as your first question you know." I raised an eyebrow. I figured that he would ask something about my relationships.

"I'm aware." He grinned.

I hummed. "Why do I have to choose just one? I like them all." He smirked. "Well, okay, I guess I use a lot of greens, and blues. But I really dig yellow, orange and red." I shrugged.

He sat back in his chair and brought his cup to his lips. "Your turn."

Almost instantly a question came to mind but I smothered it down. "What do you do? With your business, I mean."

He raised his eyebrows and put his cup back down. "Architecture. Basically we're the people who celebrities and the really spoiled rich bitches call when they want an indoor pool and a house as big as three football fields."

I rolled my eyes. "I know what architecture is, but thank you for explaining that to me." I perked up at the celebrity part.

"Have you built any houses for any celebrities?" I imagined him building Will Smith, or Orlando Bloom's house. Obviously he was shirtless in these fantasies.

"Yes." My eyes widened.

"Who...-"

"Ah, no. It's my turn." I sighed as he tapped his finger on his chin.

"Hmmmm…." The muscles in his arms bulged nicely as he leaned forward. I pretended not to notice.

"Why did your one serious relationship ruin dating for you." My eyes snapped from his nicely sculpted arms up to his eyes in a matter of seconds. I sighed before gulping down the rest of my coffee.

I traced the rim of my coffee mug once again as I talked. "His name is Jacob. And I've known him basically since diapers. We grew up together. It's funny, because Carmen would always dress us up as bride and groom and she would steal my mom's makeup and practically cake it on my face, and she would snag a pair of mom's heels and we would make a real event out of it. She would set up chairs and practically beg our neighbors to attend. Then she would pretend to be the preacher and she would marry us off and make us kiss. It was cute until our neighbors got tired of humoring us. Anyway. Jacob and I started to actually date our sophomore year, and we stayed together until our senior year of college. At the time I believed that he could do no wrong. I had believed that I knew everything about him, inside and out. It was my impression that we were in love. We both went to an out of state college, so every year we went home for Christmas. While we were packing, he proposed to me. I was beyond ecstatic. I couldn't _wait_ to tell my family. I said yes, obviously. We both agreed that I wouldn't wear the ring until we told our families. When we got to my house, Carmen instantly pulled me aside and told me that she had to tell me something. She took me away from our family and brought me upstairs to her room. At this point she was really scaring me…" my finger stopped circling the rim as I remembered that day and all of the feelings that I had felt. I took a few deep breaths before tapping my fingers against the mug; again my finger started tracing the outside of the mug.

"She told me that she had some bad news, and that it was about Jacob. Apparently, while we were home visiting for Christmas the previous year, Jacob cheated on me with my best friend Tanya. What makes it bad is that he got her pregnant. At first I had the naïve thought that we could work through it. But then I realized that I didn't want to be _that _girl. At the time that she was telling me this, my supposed best friend was chatting up my family and my fiancé. I was livid. I was literally seeing red. I wanted to go down there and kill her. I told Carmen about Jacob's proposal, and I showed her the ring." I hurriedly wiped a stupid tear off of my cheek. "Really I'm just angry that I let myself fall so incredibly in love with him." I shrugged and sighed before going on with my story. "Carmen told me I needed to confront him about it. I told her that I was just going to break up with him when we got back to school, but she insisted that I confront him now. At the time I was angry at her for telling me instead of letting me find out for myself, but I'm really glad that she did. To be honest, if she didn't, I'd probably be married to him right now. And I wouldn't have my bakery." I shrugged. "So we went down stairs and Jacob greeted me, but before he could kiss me he knew something was wrong. I guess he kind of put two and two together because of the look on Carmen's face. I swear, if looks could kill. At that moment I became a different person. I stomped into the living room in search of Tanya. When I found her I started screaming at her. I literally hurled the ring Jacob gave me at her face, and unfortunately it hit her in the eye and she had to go to the hospital. She didn't press charges, though. I went home the next day, and she tried to call me for weeks after. Jacob transferred to a school closer to Tanya, and it was the end of that." I finally looked up to him. Sorrow mixed with anger flooded his features. "It ruined dating for me because I'm always second guessing myself and I don't get close to anyone. I turned to Baking as more of a comfort thing. Plus I had been baking since the age of 12 with my grandmother, every summer. I guess that's how I ended up with a Bakery. It helps me when I'm stressed out." I let out a shaky laugh and looked at the clock.

"God damn that was the longest 45 minutes of my life. Sorry." I rubbed my face and closed my eyes. I don't know why I spilled as much as I did to him. I felt strangely comfortable with him. I didn't mind talking to him. I didn't feel like I was wasting his time when I talked. It felt like he was really listening to me.

"You are literally the third person who knows the entire story." I admitted.

"Bella…" I looked at him and shook my head.

"Please don't. You asked, I told you. To be quite honest, I don't even know _why_ I told you." I cleared my throat. "But Marcy will be here soon so we should clean this up." He nodded and picked up my cup along with his before dumping them into the sink.

"It's your turn." He said, changing the subject, which I was grateful for. I laughed and tried to think of a question.

"What's the worst date you've ever been on?" Right as the question left my mouth there was a knock on the door. I peeked at the clock.

"She's ten minutes early." My stomach filled with anxiety at the thought of seeing Marcy. I was excited to see her again, but sadness filled my heart for the loss of her mother. I ran to the door and opened it. Beautiful blue eyes stared back at me. She squealed in delight and threw her arms out.

"Hello, my darling!" I smiled at Marcy before letting the social worker in. I reached my hands out for Marcy and she easily went to me. Edward smiled at Marcy before extending his hand.

"Hello, I'm Edward, and this is Bella." She grasped his hand, tightly, might I add, and shook it with such force that it surprised me.

"Lauren Brown. I just need you guys to sign a few papers so I can leave her with you." She smiled briefly towards Marcy and then looked me up and down. I instantly didn't like her. We both signed and she smiled a flirtatious smile towards Edward before nodding curtly at me.

"Thank you." I forced out as she left. Marcy giggled happily and laid her head down on my shoulder.

"She's tired." Edward commented. "Do you want me to put her down so that we can go over a schedule?" I nodded but didn't hand her over.

"Bella?" I sighed.

"Give me a minute." I hugged her tightly. She fit perfectly in my arms as I rocked her, and I instantly knew I was ready for this. Carmen may have been crazy and impulsive half of her life, but she really thought this through. She was doing me a favor. I knew that now. I could hear Marcy's soft snores as I laid my head against hers. I kissed her on the head twice before reluctantly handing her to Edward. His eyes lit up instantly, and even though he didn't know if he was ready, I knew that Edward would make a wonderful dad.

**A/N:**_**REVIEWS ARE LIKE LITTLE CHILDREN AND I WANT THEM IN MY VAN. I HAVE CANDY. COME TO THE DARK SIDE.**_

**So I know this is posted at a weird time, but where I live, it is still Wednesday, so there you go! I know it was kind of hefty and we only got a few minutes of Marcy, but trust me, we've got the rest of the story to spend time with her.**

**Also I realized that I didn't mention ages. Marcy is 9 months, Edward is 27, and Bella is 26. **

**Some new characters will be introduced next chapter! Also, I decided that every 5 chapters I'll do a chapter in Edward's POV. So that's something to look forward to! Yay! 3 more chapters to go my lovely little hens!**

**Until next time, **

**-Olive.**


	3. Chapter 3: Water And Bridges

**A/N: **I made a twitter so that you can be regularly updated on the progress of this story! Also just in case a chapter is delayed, you'll know. Please follow it! The link is on my profile, as well as my tumblr and polyvore. Thanks! Read on, Chickens.

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><p><strong>BPOV<strong>

I smoothed my black dress down and fixed my necklace as I gazed into the mirror. Last night after we put Marcy to bed, Edward and I had gone over a plan. We wrote our work schedules on the large calendar hanging beside the fridge, and went over times and big events that couldn't be missed. I sighed and walked over to my dresser. I had to be back at the house before the guests arrived. I wanted to avoid today at all costs, but I couldn't. I didn't want to accept the fact that my sister had left this world and she was no longer with me. She could no longer talk me out of terrible decisions. I wouldn't be able to call her late at night after a particularly bad day and complain. I sat on my bad and stared back into the mirror. The face staring back at me wasn't my reflection. It was a scarier looking version of me. The dark circles under my eyes made my already pale skin look ghastly. I jumped as a knock sounded on my door. Secretly I was hoping it was Edward, but I already knew it was Alice. But as I opened the door I was shocked and ecstatic at the same time.

"Mom?" I practically fell into her arms, sobbing.

"I'm here, sweetheart." She held me quietly as I cried and for the first time in a long time, I was actually content with my mother's presence.

The ceremony for Carmen and Eleazar ended and everyone came to the house afterwards. I rolled meats and cheeses and baked cookies earlier that morning just so I could put my mind somewhere else. It only worked for the time being. After a while all of the condolences and apologies began to blur together. I managed to nod and smile and say thank you robotically as one by one, people started to disperse. I held Marcy in my arms; her little head was tucked into the curve of my neck. I could hear her snoring softly as I hugged the last of the relatives. My mom walked up to me with Phil, dabbing at her eyes with a Kleenex.

"I love you honey, but we have to head off. Phil's got an important meeting tomorrow morning. If you need _anything, _feel completely free to call me." She kissed my cheek and then kissed Marcy's head before walking towards the door. Phil stood almost awkwardly before he patted my head.

"I'm sorry, kiddo." I only nodded as he walked away.

"Do you want me to put her to bed?" I turned towards Alice and smiled at her.

"Thank you so much for being here." It came out as a whisper as my eyes filled with tears.

"Oh Bella." She hugged me as tightly as she could without waking Marcy. We sat there for a few moments, her arms wrapped around me as silent tears soaked her dress.

"You are seriously the greatest best friend in history." I said to her before grabbing the tissue she offered me.

"I know." she smiled at me before grabbing for Marcy. "Now let me hold this beautiful sleeping girl." I smiled and handed her off just as Edward was walking into the room.

"Bella, I wanted to introduce you to Rosalie. She's my business partner, and unfortunately she's going to be around more often." He tried to smile but it came off as more of a grimace. I smiled at him before shifting my eyes to the blonde next to him. She had beautiful, long blond hair and tanned skin. She pretty much looked like a Victoria's Secret model. I smiled at her and she smiled back before extending her hand.

"I'm very sorry for your loss." I nodded, and she turned back towards Edward.

"And as for you, asshole." He cringed. "Now we can finally give the business a permanent residence. I'm tired of traveling. As mobile as we've been, I think we have a better chance of staying on our feet if we have a permanent building." He shrugged as she talked.

"I guess."

Alice cleared her throat beside me. "Oh, this is Alice, my best friend and business partner, as well." Edward nodded and Rosalie smiled before extending her hand once again.

"What do you do?" she asked curiously.

"I own my own bakery. Swans Sweets, it's actually a few blocks from here." She nodded and smiled.

Marcy stirred and fussed a little bit before she started full out crying. Alice's eyes widened.

"What did I do?" she asked in a panicky tone. I smiled at her before grabbing for Marcy.

"She's probably hungry." She reached for me as I said that, and we walked into the kitchen. Alice sat at the table flipping through a magazine, and Rose excused herself. She had to get back to her hotel. I put Marcy in her highchair before looking through the cabinets for some kind of food. I pulled a jar of baby food off of the shelf and opened it.

"What is that?" Edward asked, hovering over me.

"Carrots." I sniffed it and almost gagged. "Oh my GOD that cannot be appetizing. Smell this right now." I shoved the jar under his nose and his brows wrinkled in disgust.

"Are you sure that's okay for her? I think it might be spoiled." I looked at the date on the jar.

"Nope, it's not expired. EW. This is so gross. Okay Marcy, open up!" I shoveled some of the disgusting mush onto a spoon and held it against her mouth. She started crying and pushed the spoon away.

"Okay yeah. She is not eating that." Edward searched the cabinets again as she started crying harder.

He rattled a box of cheerios before pouring a good amount onto her tray. She instantly stopped crying before shoving some into her mouth.

"This is going to be a lot harder than we anticipated." I looked over to Edward and he only nodded, a frown overtaking his features.

After we had Marcy fed and changed out of her dress, we sat her down in her play pin to nap. She fell asleep easily, her little body completely tuckered out from today's events.

I kicked my heels off and stretched my feet out onto the coffee table next to Alice.

"I need to head to my apartment again so that I can gather up the rest of my things." Edward plopped down onto the couch across from me and nodded.

"So do I. You can go first, I'll stay with Marcy." Alice got up from her spot next to me.

"I'll drive you, I brought my car." I nodded and stood as well.

"Just let me change first, these heels are killing me."

We headed out and an hour later I was standing in the doorway of my apartment, five suitcases packed to the brim of things I needed. I took one last glance around my apartment, just in case I had missed anything.

"Why did you do this? Why me." I whispered to my empty living room. Even though I asked, I already knew the answer. I sniffled and wiped away the single tear that had fallen.

"Okay. Let's go." I whispered again before clearing my throat and yelling down to Emmett to help me with my bags. I could hear his ginormous feet clobbering up the stairs before his big smile greeted me in the doorway.

"Hey Bells. You ready?" I nodded at him and smiled. He picked up three of my bags and started back down the stairs.

"You fucking ogre. Thank god you're here though or I would have had to make like 3 trips."

He simply laughed and threw me a smile. "Yeah, I know. You're a weak ass." I rolled my eyes but smiled nonetheless.

"By the way, I made a new cinnamon twist and I want you to taste it. I don't know if I like this new ingredient that I added and I need your expert opinion." He tossed my bag into the back seat of Alice's car and I chuckled at him.

"Okay. I've got ten minutes." We walked back into the bakery and I took my jacket off before hanging it up on the coat rack.

"Amaze me." I rolled up my sleeves once we got into the kitchen. Emmett took a sheet of cinnamon twists off of the cooling rack and broke a piece off before handing it too me.

I popped it into my mouth and let it roll around my tongue before biting into it.

"Hmm. That's different." I took the rest of it off of the sheet and took another bite.

"Goddamn. Emmett. You are a genius. Really, you are. What's the new ingredient?"

He smiled at me with a glimmer of pride in his eyes. "Vanilla."

"Well keep doing it, because it's great." I shoved the rest in my mouth before wiping my hands on my jeans.

He nodded before sitting down on a stool. "Sooooo…" I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Sooooo…what?" I asked, leaning against the counter.

"How are you feeling?" I sighed at him and attempted a smile.

"I've been better. Really all I need is to come to work. If I'm alone all I can think about is the what if's and it's getting worse." He sighed before getting up and hugging me tightly.

"Bella. You know that I'm always here for you. Plus you know ma' is trying to get you to come down again. She misses you. As soon as things get settled you should bring Marcy down. Hell, Edward can come too. She'd love the company." I sighed.

"You know I won't be able to go unless I drag Alice along. She loves Momma McCarty." He let out a boisterous laugh.

"Shorty can come too." I smiled at him before gathering my purse and jacket.

"Speaking of Alice, she's chatting up one of our regulars out there. I need to drag her away before she kills him and drives him away." He smiled.

"Okay, but only if you SWEAR that you're coming back to work tomorrow. I'm worried about you Bella." his tone got serious towards the end. My heart warmed and at the moment I was really happy with how fortunate I was. I have some wonderful people in my life.

"I promise, Em." He nodded and grinned.

"Good. Now go get'em tiger." He ushered me out of the kitchen and towards Alice. The guy she was talking too had often frequented our bakery, and he always spent so much money that I didn't want Alice shooing him away.

"Alice. Let's go. You're scaring the customers." He only laughed and smiled at me.

"Nah, she's okay. She was just giving me a detailed report of how to make banana bread."

I rolled my eyes at her. "Alice, you burn the bread every single time. Don't even listen to her, She's a terrible baker." he chuckled and dipped his head.

"Well, I must be going, Ladies. I'm late for work. But do have a good day. I'm Jasper, by the way." He offered me his hand and I shook it firmly. He had a nice smile, and the whitest teeth I had ever seen. His brilliant blue eyes shone against tan skin.

"Nice to meet you." I replied. "I'm Bella."

He nodded. "I know. I can't find a cupcake anywhere in the world that compares to yours. You are seriously making me fat." He pretended to frown before smiling and walking out the door. Alice fell into a chair.

"I am seriously in love." She gasped out. I rolled my eyes.

"Let's go. We've been gone too long, and I want to get back to Marcy."

"You mean Edward." She said, smirking.

"No. I mean Marcy."

"And Edward." He said in a sing-songy voice before gripping my hand and accompanying me out the door.

"Yeah, okay." I said sarcastically.

Alice dropped me off at the house before heading off to her apartment. I walked in and stopped short when I heard a beautiful sound tinkling through the house. It sounded like a piano, and upon further inspection, I found Edward sitting at the Piano in the study, Marcy fast asleep in her play pin next to him. I just listened as he played. I didn't want to disturb him, mostly because the music was so beautiful I never wanted it to end. As his fingers glided across the last few notes, he turned his head and caught a glimpse of me. He turned and put a finger to his lips before pointing to Marcy and following me out the door into the living room.

"She wouldn't stop screaming, so I called my mom and asked her what to do. Turns out Babies love Piano." He shrugged and I frowned.

"I'm really sorry that it took me so long. I got a little caught up at the Bakery…" he shook his head.

"It's okay. I'm going to go get my things though now, I am really tired of using Eleazar's old spice shampoo. I can't stand the smell of it." I laughed quietly as he grimaced.

"Okay, I'll be here." He nodded and then he was gone.

I tried to busy myself with cleaning the house. I was in the middle of scrubbing the kitchen floor before my phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Bella. It's Edward. I'm a little caught up in traffic so I'm going to be a little bit late. Have you already eaten?" I stood up and looked at the clock. An hour had already passed. I didn't feel hungry, but I know that I would eventually.

"Not yet. I'm not really hungry. I might order a pizza."

"Okay, well if you order it I'll pick it up. I should be there in about half an hour."

"Okay, I'll call in a little bit."

We hung up and I looked around the kitchen. What else was there to do? I emptied the dish washer and reloaded it. I scrubbed the counters and the floors, I cleaned the living room, the dining room, and I tried to tidy up the study but mainly I left that for Edward. I didn't want to go through Eleazar's things. I grabbed a baby monitor just in case Marcy woke up before walking up the stairs to the top floor. I was going to have to get this over with eventually. I stopped before their room and hesitated. I needed to get this over with. Now or later. I pushed the door open. Now.

There were clothes still on hangers lying across their bed. Carmen's vanity light was on, and her jewelry glistened in the light. I walked over to her closet and turned the light on. She always had the most beautiful clothes. I let my fingers caress a silky dress before shutting the door and turning the light off. I walked over to her vanity and sat down. A bit of color had returned to my face since this morning, and I don't know what had changed throughout the day. I think it might have had something to do with just being back in the bakery. A glimmer caught my eye and I reached up to finger a pair of diamond earrings. I gave her these earrings a few birthdays ago. She got me a matching pair. I took them out of their box and put them on. I smiled a little. I missed her, a lot. I kept the earrings on as I stood up and took one last look around the room. I knew that Edward couldn't sleep on the couch forever. Eventually one of us was going to have to take this room. My stomach growled as I walked downstairs. I called the pizza place and ordered two large pizzas before sitting down and turning the TV on.

In the middle of a particularly interesting re-run of Maury, Edward walked in the door holding the pizzas. He looked from the TV to me and then back to the TV.

"Are you seriously watching Maury?" he asked me incredulously.

"Yeah. This 13 year old had sex with a bunch of older men because she wants to have a baby." I said it seriously before smiling and grabbing the top pizza box.

"God I'm starving." We sat down at the table and I turned the baby monitor up just in case. As we ate we talked and laughed occasionally. I was starting to really enjoy Edwards's company.

"So. When did you learn to play piano?" I asked. I'd been dying to ask it ever since he finished playing for Marcy.

"Well." He shoved the crust of a piece of pizza in his mouth and chewed and swallowed before answering.

"My mother started teaching me at a very young age. My first memory is sitting on the bench next to her and watching her play. It always intrigued me. I guess I started really composing after I graduated. I went to school for architect but I minored in music. It was interesting, to say the least." He shrugged.

"I miss my mom. Pretty much every day." He admitted before his cheeks tinged pink.

"Where is she?" I asked before taking a sip of my root beer.

"My dad got a job down in Forks, Washington. He's one of the top surgeons at the hospital."

"You have got to be fucking with me." I said, throwing my pizza down. He looked confused.

"No, why."

"I'm from forks. It's like, the dreariest state in the whole world." He just shook his head.

"No way, are you serious? That is so weird…"

"That's where everything happened. The thing with Jake…" he grimaced and frowned.

"Sorry…"

"Don't be. Old news." I stood and brought my plate to the sink.

"I'm heading off to bed. I have work tomorrow." He nodded and put his plate in the dishwasher alongside mine.

"I'm going to work from home tomorrow. I have a lot of paperwork to do."

"Are you sure you're going to be okay with Marcy?"

He nodded his head. "Of course."

I smiled and headed to the guest room. I stopped before the door and turned back.

"Edward. You can't sleep on the couch forever. One of us has to take that room."

He sighed. "I know. But not yet." I nodded in agreement.

"I agree."

I closed the door behind me and stripped out of my clothes. Before snuggling down into the sheets I put sweats and a tank top on. My stomach rolled with excitement as I thought about heading in to work tomorrow.

I would _finally_ be back in my own element.

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><p><strong>AN:**_REVIEWS ARE LIKE LITTLE CHILDREN AND I WANT THEM IN MY VAN. I HAVE CANDY. COME TO THE DARK SIDE._

Well, I know this chapter is late, but I had a lot to do today. I made a twitter, so that I can keep you guys updated JUST in case a chapter is delayed and things like that. link is on my profile, as well as my tumblr and polyvore.

I hope your brains are working and thinking about how everyone meshes together in this story. We finally met most of the gang. There are still a few that you have yet to meet. Two more chapters to go until Edwards POV! So review and tell me what you think!

Until next time,

Olive.


	4. Chapter 4: Bright Lights

**A/N: **this is going to be a short chapter because I just got back from the library. I have midterms soon and all I've been doing is studying. I'm sorry it's delayed. Technically it's Thursday because it's midnight. Sorry about the late update. Read on.

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><p><strong>BPOV<strong>

The next few days passed by without an incident. Edward and I stuck to the calendar; Marcy was relatively decent to deal with. She cried mostly in the day time and slept almost all night. Tonight seemed to be a completely different story of course.

"Edward, just let me have her." Marcy screamed louder as he passed her to me. We had already tried everything; Bottles, food, pacifier. I changed her diaper and gave her a warm bath. Nothing was working, and it was stressing me out.

"What else is there to fucking do I don't know anything about babies." Edward buried his hands in his hair. I didn't answer him because what was I going to say? I didn't know what was wrong. In my mind we had tried every logical thing there was to try.

"What do we do?" He said in a panicked voice, pacing back and forth in the small room. I started to feel claustrophobic.

"I don't know Edward I'm not a fucking baby whisperer."

I held her to me as she cried, because what else was there to do? "She feels kind of warm..." I said quietly.

He stopped pacing and turned towards me before feeling her head. "Jesus. She's really warm. What do we do?"

"Go get the thermometer out of the medicine cabinet." I instructed. My chest felt like a jackhammer was pounding away at it. Marcy only cried louder, which made my eyes fill with tears. Right now is about the time where I start wondering if Carmen was out of her god damn mind. She must have been fucking crazy to put a task like this in my hands.

"Marcy, please." I whispered, trying to choke back a sob. Edward walked in at that moment, and after taking one look at my face, he rushed towards us.

"What's wrong? Did she throw up? Why are you crying? Bella…" I handed her over to him and collapsed into the rocking chair in her room.

"I can barely fucking remember to pay my bills. I kill almost every goldfish or plant I own. I can barely take care of myself. And they fucking hand us this child. Like, no big deal, Bella. I'm just going to put the life of my child in your hands. Don't screw up." I sniffed and choked over a sob before speaking again.

"I'm so angry at her. I'm so angry at both of them. Is that bad? At this moment I wish she were alive just so I could tear her a new asshole. I know nothing about children. I wasn't even completely sure that I wanted children, and now look at me? I'm fucking 26 and I'm living with a guy I BARELY know, oh, might as well throw the fact that I'm also raising a kid with him!" I cried harder and covered my face with my hands. "But I miss her so much. And every single day I think about all of the things that we used to fight about, and the last time I spoke to her I bitched about her stealing all of my clothes. I mean how petty is that? And then she goes and dies on me!" I felt stupid for crying about it in front of him. I'm blaming everything on sleep depravity.

"Why in god's name did I agree to do this?" I mainly pointed the question to the ceiling, but Edward answered anyway.

"Because of this." He placed Marcy in my arms, and she had a binky in her mouth. During my rant I didn't realize that she had stopped crying.

"While I was in the kitchen I called Carlisle. He told me what to do. I gave her a dose of children's Tylenol and her fever should be going down soon." As he said this, her eyes slowly started to close. He sighed and leaned on the crib directly adjacent to me.

"Bella, if this were meant to be easy, it wouldn't be life. Life fucks us over in so many different ways, and it can go both ways. You can make something good out of a shitty situation, or you can let it fall to pieces. To be honest, I think this was a blessing. Before this, my life was a downward spiral of destruction. I'm taking something terrible, and turning it into something life changing. Things can only be as good as you let them be, Bella. Remember that." I looked down at Marcy, and I could hear the feint snores her little body was letting off.

"I'm sorry that I got carried away." I whispered. I didn't want Edward to acknowledge my apology, and I'm assuming he knew that, because he didn't answer. He only picked up the toys in front of her crib and put them away in the toy box.

After he finished, he looked up at me and smiled. "So when do I get to see this bakery?"

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><p>"A lot of people don't understand that peanut butter and nutella belong together." I stated before hitching Marcy up higher on my hip. Edward looked at the pastry in his hands before taking a small, tentative bite. His eyes widened as it rolled around his tongue.<p>

"Oh my god." He cried.

"Mhmm." I only smiled.

"That is the best thing I have ever tasted." He took a huge bite after that before offering some to Marcy. She snacked on the small piece as I walked around the corner.

"I'm telling you. It's the best." I motioned my hand towards Alice as she made her way over to us.

"Hello Marcy!" she pinched her cheeks lightly. "Edward." She nodded towards him and smiled as he nodded back.

"I heard you had a rough night last night?" she was looking towards Marcy, but I knew the statement was pointed towards me." Marcy leaned her head into the crook of my neck and sighed in contentment.

"Yeah…" I said quietly. "It was bad."

"What do you even call this wonderful work of art?" Edward stated, successfully changing the subject. He was holding up another pastry filled with peanut butter and nutella.

"I don't know yet. Emmett and I just created them I can't think of a name." I walked over to the door and switched the closed sign to open.

"Something involving the word Nutter." Emmett said happily from behind the cash register. I simply rolled my eyes at him.

"I don't know. I'll figure it out. For the time being just go upstairs and set up Marcy's play pen, please? I'll be up there in a second I have to put the cinnamon rolls back in the oven." Emmett grabbed the box and motioned for Edward to follow him.

"Are you staying with us today, Edward?" Alice was being poky, and whether or not Edward knew, his face didn't show anything that indicated he did. I jabbed her arm with a pen.

She flinched but smiled at him anyway.

"Yeah. Rose is still setting up the office, so instead of sitting around at home with Marcy I figured we'd visit here." He took Marcy from me and followed Emmett up the stairs.

"Nice. Very, very nice." She mused.

"Alice." I warned, narrowing my eyes at her. She just shrugged and smiled back at me.

"What, Bella? He's cute. And totally your type by the way." She began counting receipts and putting rolls of quarters in the drawers. I put on my pot holders and picked up the pan of cinnamon buns before replying to her.

"Yeah but he's a total Asshat. He's Eleazar's best friend. The one Carmen TRIED to set me up with, but he never showed. Some business trip or something." I walked into the kitchen and Alice followed me.

"Yeah, but it seems like he's changed. You KNOW that I'm a fucking champion at spotting douche bags, and I don't get that vibe from him. Speaking of vibes, that handsome Jasper fellow is taking me out on a date. I forgot to tell you that. He wants to take me somewhere special. Bella I think I'm being serious this time. He's the one." She leaned against the counter, head in her hand. She had a far away, glazed look in her eyes.

"Yeah, Yeah. It was the same way with Eric and Mike. And they turned out so well for you Alice." I laughed as she chucked a wooden spoon at me.

"I'm being serious, you asshole." Alice laughed with me before grabbing a fresh cupcake off of one of the cooling racks.

"Bella I swear to god if I ever get married you're baking and decorating the cakes you're a fucking genius." I blushed at her compliment. It was hard to take them sometimes, but I knew Alice never said anything unless she meant it.

"Thanks. But it's partially from all those times spent with your mom in the kitchen. I can't even tell you how helpful that was for me." She sighed.

"I know. She wants us to come down soon. She heard about… She heard about Carmen and Eleazar so she wants you to visit within the next two weeks. If she can even last that long."

"That's okay. I miss her a lot, so we should go some time soon."

The loud stomps of the boys coming down the stairs indicated that they were done setting up the play pen. Emmett dragged Edward into the kitchen insisting he try his cinnamon twists.

"Where's Marcy?" I asked Edward. He held up a baby monitor and pointed to the ceiling.

"She's napping." He smiled before turning the monitor on and setting it on the counter.

"Alright Emmett. Let me try this so called masterpiece of yours."

The rest of the day went on like that. We weren't very busy because it was Wednesday. Marcy woke up a few times, either Edward or I went up to change her or feed her. We'd bring her downstairs to socialize until her eyes drooped again. I never realized how much babies truly sleep. Thinking about sleep made me realize something.

"Edward last night you gave her that binky. I don't know when you're supposed to wean them off of it but I know it's sometime soon." He shrugged.

"I don't see the harm in just giving it to her. It's just a binky." I rolled my eyes at him.

"It makes their teeth go bad, or something. I'll have to Google it."

We stayed in the bakery until closing time. Alice volunteered to lock up for me, which I was grateful for because my back was killing me.

"Good night, guys. See you tomorrow." Emmett and Alice just waved as we walked out the door.

The drive home was pretty much silent, and it remained that way until we pulled into the driveway.

"So is that the loft you stayed in?" Edward asked as he pulled a sleeping Marcy from her seat.

"Yes. I didn't see the point in packing everything up. But sooner or later I think I'm going to clean it out so I can rent it to Alice. She needs a new place." He nodded as he opened the door to the house.

"I'm going to put Marcy to bed." He replied. A few minutes later he was back and dressed in sweats and a short sleeved shirt. I pretended not to pay attention to his wonderfully sculpted arms.

"I saw some pictures up there…" he started. "Is the one picture by the window of you and Jacob?" he asked it so plainly and bluntly that it surprised me.

"Yes." I replied quietly. He simply nodded and walked to the fridge.

"do you want anything to drink?" he called. I looked at the clock. It was only 7.

"Yes. Wine." I called back to him.

Might as well drink after the night I had. "And make it a big glass."

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><p><strong>AN: **this chapter was short but guess what NEXT CHAPTER IS EDWARDS POV YEP SO GET EXCITED OMG I'M SO EXCITED YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY

READ AND REVIEW AND GET PUMPED LITTLE CHICKENS BECAUSE IT WILL BE THE BEST.

Sorry I was shouting. But seriously. I'm delusional right now and there are more than likely mistakes in this chapter but I'll fix them tomorrow. Too tired.

Good night.

Until next time.

-Olive.


	5. Chapter 5: A Boy With a Coin

**A/N: **I'm uploading this a little late, but when do I _ever_ update before 10pm? I should probably crack down on that. Anyway, review and tell me if you like it! Read on, dearies!

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><p><strong>EPOV<strong>

"Bella, how do you NOT have a Facebook?" I leaned forward and sipped at my beer. She was already on her second cup of wine; and I on my third beer. It was nice, just sitting here, talking to her like this. I didn't want it to end. From the brief time I've spent with this woman, she's already turned my world upside down. At first I saw this predicament as more of a pain in the ass, but as the days passed, I counted it as a blessing.

She sighed and took another sip from her glass. "I don't know. I never saw the use in it. Why would I make a page just to see updates from people I don't care about? I had one at first, but too many people from high school started adding me, and that was an irritating time in my life." She hiccupped at the end and her warm laughter spread across my skin like butter.

"This just won't do!" I exclaimed before grabbing my laptop and logging on to the internet.

"Oh god. What are you doing?" she asked before scooting her chair, and glass of wine, next to me.

She groaned as I typed in Facebook. "Belll-ah." I typed her first name, saying it out loud as I typed. "Swan."

"I'm serious Edward. I don't want a Facebook. It's pointless." I rolled my eyes at her before asking what her email was. She huffed out an irritated sigh as she told me.

"Seriously? This is too great. Oh my god." I chugged the rest of my beer before typing it in, again saying it out loud.

"Swan lake at yahoo dot com. Bella. Really? Is this really your email? Or are you fucking with me?"

She put her forehead against the table and groaned.

"I haven't changed it since middle school. Stop laughing at me." I couldn't hold in my laughter at this point. I think it was the three beers that made me laugh to the point of combustion. My gut ached as I wiped a tear from my eye.

"Ahhh, shit. That's the best thing ever. Please don't tell me you used that for college." She left her head resting against the table as she groaned again.

"Okay, okay. You now have a Facebook. You need a picture." She lifted her head up this time, looking at my laptop with obvious distaste. We sat there for a second before I remembered what I had nabbed from her loft above the bakery.

"Wait, never mind." I got up and retrieved that picture from my jacket pocket. Suddenly my stomach was filled with dread. What if she was angry with me for taking it?

"Um, I thought maybe you'd want this. So I brought it from your apartment." She hesitantly took the picture before smiling.

"I love this picture. Can we scan it and make it my profile picture?" I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, hold on." I brought it to the scanner and scanned it quickly before settling back down in front of my laptop. I clicked around on the website before the final picture uploaded. Bella already had a friend request.

"Renee Swan-Dwyer wants to be your friend?" a bubbling laugh burst from her lips before she pushed me out of my chair.

"Hey!" I cried, shoving her playfully.

"You're the one who set this up for me dude, at least let me play around on it. But you could get me more wine like a good friend." I rolled my eyes at her puppy dog expression and grabbed her glass. She Ooh'd and Aah'd before calling out to me.

"Wow this was a good idea! I have so many friend requests! I feel so popular!" I snorted at her and poured a sizable amount in her glass. Before heading back over to her I grabbed myself another beer.

"Here, Add me." She said, pointing to the screen. My phone beeped as she did. I pulled it from my pocket and smiled.

"Bella Swan wants to be your friend. Deeeeeeeeeeeeeee-ny." She scoffed at me playfully as I hit the accept button.

"Now I'm going to write embarrassing things on your wall like you fart in your sleep and you snore." She said, taking a gulp of her wine. I rolled my eyes and leaned over her, watching her click onto her notifications.

"Who's this?" I asked. There was a box in the corner that read: "Renee Swan-Dwyer has recommended some friends for you!"

Bella froze as she clicked on one of the pictures. She sighed and sudden realization dawned on me.

"Way to be subtle, mother." She groaned. The name on top of the profile read 'Jacob Black.' She clicked on the next picture, and the name read 'Tanya Denali-Black.'

"Wow. Really?" I asked. She only nodded and started to scroll through her pictures. There were pictures of Tanya and Jacob. Pictures of them with a baby. Pictures of said baby doing things. I sighed and grabbed the mouse out of her hand before hitting the home button.

"Don't torture yourself." I said quietly. She leaned back and sighed again, her hair brushing against my chest. I inhaled her scent, enjoying being this close to her. I couldn't decide what her scent was. It was rare, I had to admit. I didn't know if it was perfume, or if she just naturally smelled this wonderful. There was a hint of hazelnut. She took the mouse from me again, and clicked around on the website. She changed her about me, location, job, schooling, likes, and interests before taking another sip of her wine.

"Hey Edward?" she asked, twisting her head to look up at me. I scrolled the mouse around and looked through the friends she already had. From the time I made the profile to right now, 63 people had already added her, a few of them already wrote on her wall. I scrolled through the posts.

"Hmm."

"You never answered my question." I stopped scrolling and looked back at her, confused.

"What question?"

"What's the worst date you've ever been on?" I frowned for a second before looking back at the screen.

"A girl spilled her entire plate of food on me. I kind of count that as my worst date." I replied finally, smiling at her. She just rolled her eyes, and it was then that I realized how close we were. If I leaned forward, our lips would touch. She cleared her throat before looking back towards the screen and taking a gulp of her wine. I took another sip of my beer and sat down in the chair next to her. I could still smell the hazelnut from where I was sitting. I grinned and reclined back in my seat, propping my foot up on the bar of her chair.

"Let's get back to 20 questions. It's my turn." I said. She ignored Facebook for the time being, and turned towards me.

"Alright then. Ask away." She replied in a wispy voice. I thought for a moment, smiling at her.

"Hmm. What's your favorite food." She scoffed.

"Greek. Too easy." I raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't know we were sticking to hard questions here. Chinese is my favorite, just in case you were wondering." I smirked as she rolled her eyes again.

"Your turn." I replied to her eye roll, motioning my beer towards her as I spoke.

She tapped her finger against her wine glass as she spoke.

"Don't get offended." She said. I let out a chuckle and motioned for her to continue.

"How many women have you slept with?"

"Two." Was my automatic answer. "Repeatedly." I wasn't lying. I've only slept with two women in my life. And I slept with them a LOT. Sometimes still to this day.

She hummed back at me before claiming that it was my turn.

"How many _boys _have you slept with?" I smirked at my tone, which only made her sigh in frustration.

"One." I almost spit my beer out, which obviously offended her. I tried to backpedal as fast as I could.

"No, I'm just surprised is all. I thought you would have had….more." her face scrunched up in anger and I instantly realized what was wrong with that statement.

"NOT that I think you're a slut! Oh my god. Wow. That came out so wrong. I mean… You're not ugly. So I would think that you had possible suitors lining up around the fucking block." I was rambling. For Christ fucking sake, I was rambling. The first time I've ever rambled in my entire life. Let me just butter my other foot before I shove it in my mouth.

"I'm sorry, that came out wrong." I set my beer down and rubbed the back of my neck. She pursed her lips, as if she were digesting my embarrassment, before sipping her wine.

"My turn. Which celebrity's house did you build?" I breathed a sigh of relief before smiling.

"I completely designed Meryl Streep's house. Built it and everything. She's a really nice lady, not to mention a complete goddess when it comes to her movies. Also I helped design Will Smith's mansion. Which was a complete pain in the fucking ass, by the way. Have you seen that thing? But he's a cool dude as well." At the mention of Will Smith, she jumped out of her chair and started jumping around, pointing an accusing finger at me.

"I FUCKING KNEW IT. OH MY GOD, I SO CALLED IT." She chugged the rest of her wine.

"Dude, I so need to text Alice. She was WAY off. By the way I totally agree, Meryl Streep is a goddess." She spun around and started digging in her purse for her phone, chattering all the while.

"She's going to be so mad. She was convinced that you built Justin Bieber's mansion. Or some other teen pop sensation." She turned her head and my eyes snapped from the nice curve of her butt to her eyes. I literally didn't even realize that I was staring at her ass until she turned. She put her hand on her hip and threw me a devilish smirk.

"You asshole. You were just checking me out." She laughed and plopped back down in her chair, typing away on her keypad. I _tried _to explain myself but she just laughed it away.

"By the way…" she stopped typing, A look of contemplation replacing her humorous smile.

"Why _did _you take that picture?" I shrugged and finished the remnants of my beer.

"If it were me, I would have wanted it. I just figured…" I shrugged again and she let an appreciative smile grace her features. It suited her. I would have to stop thinking about her this way if I wanted this situation to work out.

"Thank you, Edward. I really do appreciate it." I only nodded and smiled at her. I was smiling a lot these days.

"You're welcome, Bella." She started to gather her things, but stopped and got up quickly to hug me. If it were anyone else, the hug would have been awkward. I inhaled and I relished in the scent of her skin. Nutty, and sugary sweet. She kind of smelled like a walking bakery. Which, for some fucking reason, I liked. When she moved away, my skin actually tingled. What a chick thing to say, right? Tingled. But I fuck you not, I was tingling. Even through my t-shirt. I felt stupid and selfish for some reason. I was filled full with confusing thoughts and feelings that I've honestly never bothered to feel before.

She sighed sweetly and picked up her glass before signing out of Facebook. She had no idea what thoughts were swirling through my head. All for the better, I decided. I tried to convince myself that everything about these feelings were wrong. We had Marcy to take care of, responsibilities far more important than starting a relationship. I suddenly hated the thought of Bella being with anyone, even myself. Bella excused herself to bed, and I decided I would do the said. My brain was still working up confusing thoughts, even as I laid my head to the pillow. I thought about the first time I had ever seen her. At the time, I disregarded her, as if she weren't important at all. But that was also due to the fact that I was too caught up in Victoria. Worse mistake of my life, to be honest. After that I didn't see her again, only heard about her. Carmen dropping slight hints about her, the very few times Eleazar put her on the phone. I could never understand why she was so persistent when it came to her.

"_She's too good for you, but Carmen wants you two to meet up next time you're in town." I could hear her saying something in the background. He sighed into the phone, and I chuckled confidently. _

"_I'm still with Victoria, Eli." He only groaned at this tidbit of information. _

"_Fucking Christ, don't remind me. Have I already told you that Bella's too good for you? Because I'll say it again. Victoria has ruined you, dude. I'm only saying this because you're my best friend."_

_I huffed out an irritated grunt. "Just give me her number, asshole."_

_He burst out laughing. "No fucking chance, dickweed."_

I had ended the phone call shortly after, but only after Eleazar reminded me again that she was too good for me. I never realized how right he was. Even though I may be a completely different person now, I'm definitely not proud of who I was.

Bella had me doubting everything I had ever believed. To say that she had flipped my world completely upside down was a fucking understatement. I remembered the night of the accident, after I got the call. I'm surprised I didn't get pulled over, seeing as my speedometer read just above 95mph. I couldn't even think straight, let alone pay attention to the road. I don't remember anything after that until the moment she burst through the doors. I know that I had been crying, which I would never admit to anyone. Except maybe Bella, if she asked. She looked around the room frantically, her eyes just passing my spot in the corner before the Nurse lifted the sheet. It may have been inhumane, but my scumbag switch had not yet turned off. I couldn't stop myself from taking in her lean legs, which ended perfectly in pumps that complimented pretty much her entire backside. To this day I'm disgusted with myself over it. The fact that my best friend lay dead on a cold metal table, and here I was, checking out his wife's sister. I remembered where I was for a second, and completely switched into a different the person. The person I was BEFORE everything happened. The person I had wished and hoped still existed. My phone buzzed as the thoughts still bounced around in my brain. I rolled over on the couch and sifted through my jeans pockets before holding it in front of my face. The light literally blasted my eyes and it took me a few minutes to adjust.

_Bella Swan has posted on your wall. _

I laughed quietly and clicked the link. It led to my wall, and I tried to contain my outburst of laughter as I read it.

_**Bella Swan:**__ You fart in your sleep. And you snore. I can hear you all the way across the house. Rude._

I rolled my eyes but I was smiling so hard my cheeks hurt as I replied.

_**Edward Cullen: **__Please do NOT tell me you downloaded the Facebook App on your phone. I'm never going to get ANY sleep at this rate…_

_**Bella Swan: **__As a matter of fact, I did. And to be honest, I thought you were already sleeping. I decided to try out this stupid app thing. :-) _

_**Edward Cullen: **__I'm sure. Now go to sleep. ;) _

_**Bella Swan: **__Yeah, yeah. Goodnight. :)_

_**Edward Cullen: **__Goodnight, Bella. _

I set my phone down beside me and turned back over on my side. As I started to fall asleep, a single thought popped into my head. It was a thought I didn't want to pay any attention too. I didn't want to get my hopes up. For all I knew, she could see me as the biggest douchebag of all time. If I were in her shoes, I would think the exact same thing. But I still couldn't smother the thought down as my eyelids shut.

Is there _any_ chance at all that she could feel the same way?

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><p><strong>AN: **…...

How was it? Seriously give me your completely brutal, honest opinions. I've literally only written EPOV twice, this being the second time. Tell me if I botched it, or if I completely messed it up. But I also want you to tell me if you liked it, please. Positive feedback literally fuels my soul. (As well as reviews. {; -This is my not-so-subtle hint that you should review.) I had fun writing this chapter. It's sort of a filler, to be honest. It's something that had to happen in order for the next events to make sense. Oh man, let me tell you. I have big plans for this story, BIG plans. Okay my children (better than chickens, right?), I'm about to fall asleep. I'm trying to juggle working out, studying, and writing as well as having a social life. I think I'm doing a pretty okay job.

Except for the fact that it's technically Thursday, and I'm just now uploading this chapter. But give me some credit; it's only 12:20 am.

Alright, please review!

Until next time,

Olive.

_**READ THIS:**_ The picture Edward stole from the apartment can be found on my polyvore AND my tumblr. I didn't really mention any outfits this chapter, so it'll just be the picture! Thanks for reading!


	6. Chapter 6: Apartments and Gun Ranges

**This is going to be a long A/N: so READ!* **

Am sorry that I've failed to update for the past…what? Four weeks?I know that I'm a terrible person; you don't have to remind me. NEVERTHELESS, I have a feeling you're going to forgive me with this SUPER long chapter and some SERIOUS Bella/Edward time. Also, I'm updating again this Friday/Saturday, I haven't picked a day yet because I don't know when I'll finish it, so we'll find out soon enough! I love you guys, thank you for reading, hopefully real life won't intervene for that long again, which I seriously doubt because school's almost over and then the summer is ours! Yay!

_**ALSO:**_So I forgot to mention it, and it's completely 100% my fault, but they live in California. I know, I'm sorry I forgot to mention it. I know you probably assumed that it was in Seattle or something but it's in Cali. Anyway. Read on!

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><p><strong><em><span>WARNING;<span>_ fucking fuck long chapter ahead of you. So grab some popcorn and wine and put on some nice music and relax. Also please review even though I don't deserve it but it'll let me know that you're still with me.**

**Also i'm deleting that authors note soon.**

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><p><strong>BPOV<strong>

I had honestly expected that I would delete my Facebook after a few days, but I didn't. I still got on it from time to time and I played games and caught up with old friends I forgot I had. Alice set up a likeable page for our bakery, which actually worked really well and we already have over six thousand hits. I never even knew that we had so many fans.

I updated my status before shutting my computer and putting Marcy's other sock on. She smiled and gah'd at me as I picked her up. No matter what type of day I was having, she could always brighten my mood. She was wonderful to be around. Even though her tantrums could run out of control, there were times that made everything so worth it.

"Auntie Alice is making us have a girl's night, Marcy. Trust me, you'll love it." She only ahh'd at me and head-butted my shoulder, which made me laugh.

"What are you girls laughing about in here?" Edward leaned against the door and smiled at us.

"Alice wants us to go up to her apartment and have a girl's night. We're going to paint our nails!" I said excitedly, grabbing Marcy's foot and wiggling it around.

"Do you want to get your tootsies painted?" I asked her. She threw her head back in response.

"You should invite Rose. I could use a few hours without her up my butt about the location of the building." He commented loudly as Rose came in through the kitchen door, sandwich in hand.

"You are seriously the biggest A-Hole in the world." She glared at him. We were trying to watch our mouth's around Marcy. We really didn't want her first word to be asshole, or fuck.

"Do you want to join us Rose? We're just going to do basic girl sleepover things." I asked, hiking Marcy up higher on my hip. She smiled and took a big bite of her sandwich.

"I'd love too. Is it okay with Alice?" she asked after she swallowed.

"I don't see why not!"

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><p>The pizza arrived at Alice's house shortly after we did, and I fed Marcy small bites of cheese and bread until she started pushing away my hand.<p>

"Let's paint her nails before she gets sleepy." Alice claimed. I nodded and propped her up between the cushions. She lay back comfortably, sucking on her binky and watching us with curious eyes.

"How about pink?" Alice asked, holding up a small bottle of a shiny pink colored nail polish.

"Nah, let's paint them blue." I said, holding up an adorable baby blue color. We all agreed on the blue, and Alice painted Marcy's toes while I painted Rose's and she painted mine. We sat chatting comfortably until we were all finished and our nails were dry. Alice checked Marcy's three times before picking her up from the cushions and leaning back.

"Superman!" Alice exclaimed, twirling her in the air and smiling as she giggled happily.

"She's going to throw up if you do that." I said, putting another clear coat on my nails.

"Yeah okay." She said distractedly. I rolled my eyes and stood, waddling to the kitchen to pour myself a glass of wine. In the middle of pouring I heard a screech and lunged towards the living room.

"What?" I asked frantically. Alice set Marcy down between the cushions again and held her shirt a few feet away from her.

"She threw up on me." I couldn't contain my laughter. Rose and I burst into hysterics as Alice peeled her shirt from her torso.

"It's not funny!" she cried, running into her room to change.

"I told you she would."

"She did, indeed." Rose said, picking up Marcy and cradling her against her.

Alice came back a few moments later with a new shirt on and a bunch of movies in her hand. "I'm feeling like it's a Jake Ryan kind of night." She commented before plopping down beside Marcy.

"So, Rose. Do you have a boyfriend?" Alice pried. I rolled my eyes and went back to the kitchen. I grabbed two more glasses down from the cabinet and poured some wine for all of us. I could hear Alice asking a million questions at once as I walked to the fridge, searching for cheese and meat. I was instantly happy that Alice had an obsession with pepperoni, seeing as there was a gigantic stick of it on the bottom shelf. As well as a cube of Colby Jack. I was in the middle of cutting the cheese into cubes when Rose joined me with Marcy.

"She's getting sleepy, does she have a playpen here?" she asked, picking up the wine I poured for her and sipping at it.

"Yeah, Alice already has one set up in her room." She nodded before setting her glass down and walking in the direction I pointed her too. I popped a cube of cheese in my mouth as I arranged the food on the plate in a decorative design, purely out of boredom.

"So, what's it like living with Edward." Rose asked after coming back into the kitchen, sitting down on one of the stools at the breakfast bar.

I shrugged. "I mean it's not terrible. It's kind of fun having a roommate though. The only thing that sucks is he won't put the toilet seat down. I mean we have two bathrooms in that goddamn house, and he somehow manages to leave fucking both seats up. Also sometimes he leaves his clothes all over the living room, which can actually get quite fucking irritating. But he also helps out a lot. So it's not bad at all. Sometimes." She sipped her wine and ate cheese as I spoke.

"Well, his office is the biggest mess I've ever seen, I just figured he'd bring that sloppiness back to the house." She said, rolling her eyes and smiling at me.

"But he's really good with Marcy. Like, sometimes she's crying so hard and I can't do anything to calm her down, and then I hand her to him and she's fucking silent. I can't even tell you how many times that has hurt my feelings, but then there are times where she'll only want me, which makes up for it." I ate another piece of cheese and pepperoni as I sat down next to her.

"Also, we're trying to get her to say more than just 'ba-ba.' She says ba-ba over, and over, and over again. She LOVES the word 'No.' she says it at everything. I read on a website that at nine months they should be able to comprehend and say basic words like bye-bye and stuff like that. I think that I've looked at every single parenting website in the world, and I'm still clueless. She has her first appointment with the pediatrician next week." I sighed and put my head in my hand as Alice walked into the kitchen.

"Rose, you were supposed to come back with Bella AND popcorn like a zillion hours ago." She bee lined towards the wine I had poured her and took a large gulp of it and made a face.

"Erghhd, it's warm! Why didn't you call me in sooner? If I would have known that there was booze, I would've been here in an instant." She poured it out in the sink before grabbing the bottle from the fridge and filling her glass.

"I honestly think that you're doing a lot better than most people in your position." Rose said, grabbing the plate and following Alice into the living room. I poured more wine into my glass before joining them.

"I guess. I wouldn't be doing as well if I were alone, though." I replied before sitting down on the couch. Alice nodded and leaned back into the cushions next to me.

"You and Edward would make the cutest babies." She said innocently, sipping her wine and looking at Rose, who was nodding enthusiastically.

"Alice, stop." I warned, putting my glass down on the table and grabbing the remote from her and playing the movie.

"What? I'm serious! They would be perfect." She grumbled. We watched the movie in silence for a few minutes before Rose spoke up.

"He always talks about you when we're working. About something funny Marcy did, or about how well you react with her. He's quite fond of you." I turned towards her in shock, and she only nodded.

"Don't diminish the idea so quickly, Bella. Things happen. Take them in stride instead of pushing them away." And with that she turned back to the movie and remained silent.

Alice shivered and looked at both of us with a smile on her face.

"I just got chills, dude. Rose, that was some Dr. Phil shit right there." We all cracked up and joked around for the rest of the night until we went to bed.

The next morning I could feel a slight headache coming on, so I got up and made coffee. I almost stepped on Rose on my way to the kitchen, who insisted on sleeping on the floor. Something about her back. The delicious smell filled the air as it perked, and little by little my fatigue melted away. Alice peeked her head out the door of her bedroom.

"Coffee?" she asked excitedly. I smiled and nodded, grabbing two cups from the cabinet, handing one to Alice. As soon as it was done I poured my cup most of the way full, adding sugar and creamer to it before I sat down at the table. Alice handed me a muffin and we sat there, chatting quietly about the bakery. We needed flour, icing bags, and fondant.

My phone rang across the room from my purse, and I couldn't decide if I wanted to ignore it or not. I ended up getting up and walking across the room after the third ring. It was Edward.

"Hello?"

"_Hey. What are you guy's doing?"_

I cocked the phone between my shoulder and ear and walked back to the table, picking up my coffee cup and bringing it to my lips before sitting back down. "Nothing really. We just woke up. Why?"

"_I don't know I was just wondering when you guys were coming back." _He said quietly, before sighing and speaking again. _"Also… Do you want to go to a gun range today? You don't have to; I'm just tired of cleaning and re-cleaning the house. I'm bored. And if I sit in this house for any longer I might start alphabetizing the cleaning products under the sink."_ I heard him grumble under his breath.

"A gun range? That's random." I commented, obviously interested. I've only ever shot a gun twice in my life, and it was very thrilling. I picked at my muffin as he answered.

"_Yeah, one of my friends works there and I just got off of the phone with him. He asked me if I wanted to come up today, and I figured I'd ask you if you wanted to come._" He cleared his throat.

Rose walked in at that point, looking at us questioningly.

"What's this I hear about a gun range" she asked, pouring herself a cup of coffee and joining us at the table. I held up a finger and spoke into the phone.

"Yeah, sure. That'll be awesome." He breathed a sigh of relief before laughing quietly.

"_Okay good. Ask Alice if she would be okay with watching Marcy._" I nodded, and then realized he couldn't see me

"Alright, I don't think she'll mind though." I put my muffin down and took another sip of coffee before leaning back in my chair.

"_Alright. See you in an hour?_"

"Yeah. See you in an hour." I repeated before hanging up.

"Who was that?" Alice questioned. "And what about a gun range?"

"Edward wants to go to the gun range today, so he asked me if I wanted to go with him. Also he wants to know if you can watch Marcy, Alice." She eyeballed me before nodding her head. Rose leaned back in her chair, letting a small smile slip from around her coffee cup.

"What are you smiling at?" I accused, taking a large bite of muffin.

She merely shrugged. "The gun range, huh? Interesting." I just stared at her. How is that interesting? It was a gun range.

"How?" I questioned aloud. She smiled at me before answering.

"Oh, nothing. Have fun!" she chirped before chugging the rest of her coffee and standing up. "I have to leave unfortunately. I have tons of paperwork to do for the new building."

"You guys found one?" I finished my coffee and stood up to put my cup in the sink. She jumped in excitement.

"We're going to build one. On that empty lot next to that gigantic Starbucks. Which is a FABULOUS location, if you ask me." She slipped her boots on as Alice circled around the kitchen, rubbing her chin in contemplation.

"Don't think too hard, Alice." I joked. She rolled her eyes at me and turned on Rose.

"What's Edward's favorite color?"

"Blue." I answered almost automatically.

"How did you know that? Never mind. Rose, we need to dress her. She doesn't realize that this is a date." Before I could answer she was out of the kitchen and running into her room, murmuring to herself.

"It's not a date." I said quietly. Rose smiled.

"Of course it isn't, sweetie."

I sat in my car an hour later, tapping my fingers against the steering wheel as I drove.

"Don't listen to Alice. Just be yourself. Forget everything we said about it being a date." I nodded but didn't say anything back. To be honest, I couldn't decide whether I wanted it to be a date or not. I mean I'd be lying if I said I wasn't attracted to him, but the last thing I wanted to do was complicate our situation.

"I'm not going to think too much into it." I commented. Which is the truth, because that would only waste time and cause stress.

She smiled at me. "Good." We pulled up to the house and she hopped out as Edward walked out of the front door.

"Have fun." She winked at me and shut the door. I let out a laugh as I watched her flip off Edward numerous times before walking into the house. He only rolled his eyes before getting into the passenger seat.

He smiled at me. "How was girl time?" I smiled back, putting the car in drive.

"It was nice, actually. How was your night?"

He gave an exasperated sigh, throwing his head to the side dramatically. "It was terribly boring. I woke up every hour on the dot because I'm so used to Marcy. The range is on 34th street."

I laughed. "She only woke up once at Alice's house, which I was grateful for."

I thought for a moment before speaking again. "So why a gun range? I had to ask. It's just kind of random." He shrugged nonchalantly.

"I don't know, my friend works for one and it just re-opened. Plus I haven't shot a gun since college, it's quite thrilling." I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, try being a cop's daughter. I probably came out of the womb with a can of pepper spray in one hand and a gun in the other. Dad made sure I knew how to properly use both before I turned twelve." He let out a hearty laugh that filled my stomach with butterflies. He had a great laugh. A really, really great laugh. God I hoped this was a date.

"Oh man. I vaguely remember Charlie. He was at their wedding, right? Carmen and Eleazar's?" The question was innocent, and curious, yet it sent my heart crushing down into my stomach. I willed the lump out of my throat before replying.

"Yes, he was there." It was the last time we saw him before the accident. It was the last time he knew who we were without having to be reminded constantly. I thought about him sitting in his big lazy chair at home. Sue was probably cooking and talking to him from the kitchen as he sort of watched the game on the TV. He mostly slept. I changed the subject.

"I might just show you up at this gun range, I'm warning you now." I let out a quick laugh, and when I was sure my face was completely void of emotions, I turned to him. I saw a flicker of worry cross his face before he brushed it off and smirked.

"Listen, I don't think you know just how good I am with my gun. I have skills, okay." _with his gun…_ I literally blushed. He pushed a button on my car stereo and music filled the car.

"Yeah, yeah. Okay." I replied and rolled my eyes at him. He smirked. The rest of the way there was filled with light chatter and a lot of laughing. When we got there, I was surprised that I was actually extremely excited to hold a gun again, as psychotic as that may sound.

The building was nice, and before we could start shooting we had to watch a short video about gun safety. The second I held the pistol in my hand, I had a serious case of Déjà vu.

I slammed the clip in, and slid the glasses down my face.

"Are you ready, Cullen?" he scrunched his nose up at me before flicking me on the forehead.

"No one likes a show off, Bella." He said, pushing his glasses down as well. I stuck my tongue out at him and he scoffed.

"Do it again and I'll cut it off." He threatened. I raised my eyebrows in a challenge.

"I dare you." I replied. He raised an eyebrow.

"You just wait, Swan. You just wait." He replied, taking on a weird stance before getting ready to shoot his gun. I watched him for a few seconds. He squinted his eyes a few times before taking on another stance and angling his body a different way.

"What the fuck are you doing?" I asked. I tried to contain my laughter as the other gunman around us shot us glares. He clucked his tongue and shot his gun a few times before angling another way and emptying his round. He flicked the switch that brought his target towards us. Almost every bullet had made a pretty lethal shot on the target, which surprised the fuck out of me.

Now I _had _to show him up. I am a cop's daughter, after all.

He set his gun down before throwing his hands in the air.

"What what! Beat that, Swan!" he joked, pushing my shoulder. I didn't reply as I turned around and picked my gun back up. My first few shots were really embarrassing, but Edward chanting in my ear didn't help. At least that's what I told myself.

"Alright back the fuck up. Shits about to go down." I said. I took on a comfortable stance and let out a big sigh, tilting my head to the side and emptying my entire round on the target. Without saying a word I flicked the switch and silently watched the piece of paper fly towards us.

"Wow…" Edward breathed. Three solid shots to the brain, one in the heart.

"Remind me never to fuck with this chick." an unfamiliar voice said from behind us. We turned and a fairly large guy stood uncomfortably close to me.

Edward laughed and did some type of "bro hug" with his friend, which really just looked like a complicated combination of a pat on the back and a fist bump. I rolled my eyes at them.

"James, this is Bella. Bella, this is James." He stepped really close to me before wrapping his meaty arms around me for a few uncomfortable seconds. When he let go he grabbed my shoulders and stared into my eyes.

"I am really, really sorry for your loss." He said slowly, clapping me on the shoulder.

I sat there for a second, dumbfounded. I literally had an 'Uhm….' Moment.

Uhm.

"Thanks?" He nodded and closed his eyes, shaking his head back and forth, still holding on to me. I shot a panicked look at Edward. I gestured to this gigantic lug holding onto me with my head and mouthed,

'Is he going to cry?'

He choked on laughter, which broke James out of his reverie.

"I'm sorry, I disappeared for a second. Where were we? Ah, yes. Ed, I have a new gun you should try out. He disappeared behind the counter and was back before I could even breathe. He handed it to him, and Edward's eyes widened with excitement.

"Dear god." He turned around, filling the rounds of this big fancy gun that I didn't care to know the name of. James turned towards me.

"I brought one for you too." He handed it to me and waited for me to reply, staring at me expectantly.

"Oh, ohm, alright. I've only ever shot a pistol, so…." He leaned forward a little bit, and obnoxiously flexed his biceps as he did so. It took all I had in me not to gag and roll my eyes. I looked at Edward and he sat half admiring the gun he had just finished using, half listening to us.

"Here, let me show you."

James put his hands over mine on the gun, his body a little too close for comfort. He put his finger over mine on the trigger, and we fired a few rounds from the gun. He squeezed my shoulders with his arms before dragging them back. I don't know what that was supposed to do, but the only thing it did was creep me out. Edward cleared his throat and James clamped his hands down on my shoulders.

"Well, it was nice meeting you Bella. Ed, we need to hang out sometime soon! You're never in town. See ya later!" and then he was back behind the counter. We sat there quietly for a second before Edward spoke.

"I'm sorry about that. That was weird." I shuddered unintentionally and chuckled.

"Yeah I feel really bad for saying this but your friend creeps me out so badly. He kept spacing out and the whole shoulder grabbing thing is really uncomfortable." Edward laughed and rolled his eyes.

"He's so into you it's unreal." I rolled my eyes back at him.

"Yeah right, he was just being nice."

"Dear god woman, do you not know anything about men?" he asked in shock.

"I guess not." I click the safety on my gun and set it down.

"Okay any time a man shows a woman how to do something from behind, it's just an excuse for him to get really close, and breathe down her neck. Seriously."

"You are such a liar." I argued.

"Really? Do you mind picking up that gun Bella."

"What?" I asked.

"Go ahead. Pick up the gun." He leaned one hand down on the table, watching me. As I started to pick it up he interrupted me.

"Oh no you're doing it all wrong. Here, let me show you." He wrapped his arms around me and took hold of my hand, wiggling it around playfully and trying to pick up the gun.

"No, no see it's real easy I've been doing it my whole life you just bend with the knees…" I rolled out of his embrace effortlessly, laughing at him. He only leaned towards me again, raising an eyebrow.

"Whatever. Can we just go get something to eat? I'm dying." He laughed at me and threw his arm around my shoulder playfully.

"Yeah yeah, let's go before you drop dead." I relished in the warmth that radiated from his arm as we walked to the car.

He opened the passenger side door and I openly gaped at him.

"What?" he asked, gesturing for me to get in the car.

"No one's ever done that for me before." I said, and then wished I could take it back. God, I'm an idiot. Fucking fuck FUCKITY JESUS FUCK-"Do it again." I managed to say, shutting the door and waiting for him to open it a second time. He chuckled and stood up straight, pretending to straighten out his shirt before he opened it. He grabbed my hand and led me towards the car.

"After you, Miss." Once I was in I reached for the door, completely ecstatic, but he held his hand out.

"What?" I asked, still in a daze.

"Keys?" he asked. I let out a puff of air and handed them over.

"This is my car. You scratch it, crash it, damage it in any kind of way, and you're paying for it so hard." He laughed and snatched the keys.

"Yeah, Yeah." He shut my door for me and ran around to the other side.

"So what do you want for dinner? Do you want to pick Marcy up before dinner or after?" I thought for a second. He was putting it up to me. If I chose to pick her up after dinner, and this wasn't supposed to be a date, then he'll think that I think it's a date, and it might get awkward. But if I say we pick her up before dinner, and it's a date, then he'll think that I don't think it's a date and he might think I'm not interested. Which I am. Right? Am I?

What? None of that even made sense. Okay. Stop over thinking this. It was a simple question. Answer it simply. Quit over thinking this shit, god damn it.

He smiled at me and started the ignition, waiting expectantly. Ugh, that smile.

"After dinner."

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><p><strong>AN:**This is another shameless attempt to redeem myself because I feel terrible and you guys hate me.

Also I was in New York all last weekend because I was visiting family. But the only reason I know that the long wait for a chapter won't happen again anytime soon is school's almost over and I'm done with exams so from this point on we're back to our daily update schedule.

I'll probably update either Friday night or Saturday morning to get back on track because I'm a loser and I have no friends so all I do is write on the weekends if I'm not doing school stuff.

So until next time.

-Olive

Ps. if you're still with me you're a goddess and I love you.

also this is 5,044 words and my brain hurts right now. Have you forgiven me yet?


	7. Chapter 7: Thinking Of You

**Short A/N: PLEASE READ:** If you've ever seen Hercules the Disney movie where pain and panic bow down to hades and say "We are worms" you know how I feel right now. Like a worm. I love you. I'm sorry it took so long for me to come back to you. FORGIVE ME. PLES.

I made this chapter extra-long and fluffy like because I am a worm.

Read on.

**Bella POV:**

I sat on the couch with my arms folded and my knees crossed. On our way home we decided to buy a movie and order somewhere that delivered. Edward and I ordered spaghetti and garlic bread from the Italian place around the corner. However, the spaghetti we ordered had mushrooms in it, and twenty minutes into our movie he realized it. I've recently discovered that Edward has an unordinary fear of mushrooms. I chuckled to myself, playing with the remote and staring at the paused movie.

"Who knew that Edward Cullen could change a dirty diaper in two seconds but throw up the instant mushrooms touched his tongue?" I shouted to him. The bathroom door was cracked, and he had the sink water running.

He tried to tell me to shut up but he became occupied with the porcelain. My phone rang and I got up from the couch and ran to my purse on the table.

"Helloooooo?" I said happily.

"_Oh, am I interrupting something?"_ Alice said, suspicion coloring her tone.

"Of course. Edward and I ordered spaghetti and I've found that he has a rather large…. distaste for mushrooms. He's puking in the bathroom. You were interrupting my mockery."

"_Uh-huh. I was just calling to let you know I'll be bringing Marcy over in five minutes. I've got a hot date, remember?_" I smiled.

"Of course you do. I remember. Well go ahead, I'm just having a grand old time over here." Edward had a pause and took advantage of the chance to throw a few choice words my way before leaning back over and heaving.

"_Good god, even I heard that._"

"Oh I know. He should be finishing up by now so I'm going to give him pepto and sprite. You can just bring her in when you get here." There was a pause.

"Alice?" she cleared her throat.

"_Pepto and sprite, huh? Alrighty, I'll be there in five."_ She hung up and I rolled my eyes at my phone before setting it back down and walking into the kitchen. I heard a flush and a groan as I poured sprite into a cup of ice and grabbed the bottle of pink gooey shit. I can't stand this stuff. I'd much rather die than take this. When I walked into the bathroom he was just lying on the floor with his forehead pressed against the toilet. I suppressed laughter and felt a cringe of sadness. He looked so pitiful. And kind of cute. I set the cup and medicine down so I could grab a wash cloth and run it under cold water.

"How are you doing?" I asked. He groaned and rolled over to look at me.

"Never. Ever a-fucking-gain." I laughed and handed him the washcloth as he sat up. He grabbed the Pepto and chugged a few sips before chasing it with sprite.

"Thank you for this." He winced and set them back on the counter.

"No problem. I kind of laughed at you the whole time so I figured I owed you." He smiled and wiped the rag over his face.

"Alice is bringing Marcy over in a few minutes, so get in the shower. Because honestly, you smell like vomit." He threw the rag at me and I jumped back and ran out of the bathroom screeching. I could hear his warm laughter following me out. I couldn't keep the smile off of my face for the rest of the night. Edward got out of the shower right as Alice walked into the living room. He had on black sweats and a dark forest green shirt as he dried his hair with a towel.

"I heard you have an affinity for mushrooms." She set Marcy in my lap and collapsed into the recliner. Marcy snuggled against me and clapped her hands happily.

"Ha ha HA HAHA HA. THEY TASTE LIKE DIRT AND SHOULD NOT EXIST IN THIS WORLD." Edward burst out, throwing his hands up and tossing his towel into the laundry room.  
>"No really, I mean I have a few cookbooks that are solely mushroom related. I could let you borrow them but you have to bring them back." She chuckled darkly and I couldn't keep the smile off of my face. He poked his head out of the kitchen and threw a pointed glare my way before turning it towards Alice.<p>

"Don't you have a date or something?" He asked before going back into the kitchen. She stood up and smiled.

"Yes. Yes I do." She kissed my cheek and then Marcy's before waving and walking towards the door.

"Bye Edward." He grumbled in the kitchen and she laughed. I got an eyebrow raise and I rolled my eyes at her before mouthing 'Go' and pointing towards the door. She smiled and left. I turned the TV to cartoons and sat back to watch some show with two bunnies that could talk.

Marcy sat up straight and clapped her hands as Edward came through the door.

"Hey baby." He smiled and kissed her forehead before sitting next to me.

"What is that?" I tried to peek into his bowl but he held it away from me.

"It's my masterpiece." I jabbed his side and laughed as he made a noise in the back of his throat.

"What's in it?" he sighed and rolled his eyes playfully.

"It's top secret, but I WILL let you taste it." I finally got a look inside the bowl. It just looked like Ramen Noodles. He twirled some noodles onto his fork.

"That's gigantic, I'm not going to be able to fit that in my mouth."

"That's what she said." He took a bite and then handed me the rest. I just rolled my eyes at him.

I expected to taste Ramen Noodles, but oh no, this was much better.

"Good god, man." I said and he just nodded, smiling.

"Yup."

"What is in that?"

"I can't tell you." He tilted the bowl and slurped.

"Why not?" I asked, dipping the fork back in it when he brought it away from his mouth. He grabbed it from me and twirled some more noodles around it. He handed it back.

"Cullen recipe." I scoffed and took another bite before handing it back. "My brother and I used to make this on weekends. What was supposed to be a dare ended up being the best thing we ever created."

"What was the dare?" did I even want to know was a better question.

"Alright, alright." He said before leaning close to me. I leaned forward too. He looked around before saying, "If I told you, I'd have to kill you." I rolled my eyes.

"You're a jerk." I said smiling.

"Maybe I'll tell you one day." He winked at me and slurped some more.

"Yeah okay." I laughed. Marcy was still dancing along to her show and I smiled at how cute she was. All in all, it had been an extremely good day today.

A few shows later and Marcy was asleep on my lap and I picked her up to bring her to bed. Edward followed behind me up the stairs. I tucked her in with her pink fuzzy blanket and she hummed delightfully.

"She's so perfect." Edward whispered, stroking her cheek lightly.

"I know." I replied. It was almost surreal how perfect she was. Even all of the bad things like dirty diapers, crankiness, throw up, and fevers couldn't sway how utterly worth it this was. Edward put his hand on my shoulder and my stomach fluttered with butterflies.

"Bella, do you believe now how worth it this is?" I crossed my arms and sighed contentedly.

"Yes. I was just thinking about that. No matter how many bad things happen I could never even think about leaving her alone with a family other than us." _Us?_

"I know. Trust me, I know. Sometimes I think about what would have happened if we hadn't taken her. But then I stop myself because it's a pointless thought path." I nodded. I can't stop myself from thinking that sometimes. He squeezed my shoulder and let go as we walked out of the room.

The door to Carmen and Eleazar's room was creaked open. I had a sudden urge to go in there and I walked towards it. Edward stopped me.

"Are you ready for this?" he asked, concern furrowing his eyebrows.

"Yeah. Are you?" he nodded. I opened the door but we stopped in the doorway after I turned on the light. The clothes were still on their hangers and still draped over the bed. The earrings were back in the place I had put them. It looked lived in, despite the fact that it hadn't been for a few weeks. I took a breath in and let it out slowly.

"Okay. Okay we can do this." Edward said and took a step forward.

I walked in and picked up the clothes on hanger, putting them back in the closet. Edward straightened Eleazar's watches and lined his shoes along the wall. We started making the bed and a pacifier fell out of the covers. It was one of the ones I had gotten her for her baby shower. I picked it up and placed it on the bedside table before turning the comforter over and plumping the pillows. I hopped up on the made bed and sat back against the pillows, sighing. It was so comfortable. I remembered when they had first bought this house, and their old bed wasn't big enough for the room. She made me come with her to buy a new one. We tested probably three hundred different beds, and I didn't think I'd be able to lay down again until we came to this one. It was so comfortable, and she wasn't even lying down for two seconds before claiming that it was the one. I smiled at the memory. I felt the bed dip beside me and I looked at him. He placed his hands behind his head and pursed his lips.

"It's weird being in here without them." I nodded my head and turned onto my side, propping my head up on my hand. I traced the embroidered flowers on her covers before speaking.

"Do you think they can see us? Like do you believe in that shit?" I didn't look up and he was silent for a bit.

"I hope not. I can just hear Eleazar telling me how big of a dumb ass I am because I didn't know how to properly warm milk." We laughed and I finally looked at him. He was staring at me.

"What about you?" he asked softly.

"I don't know. I mean I miss them a lot. Carmen used to call me late at night and tell me about her day and what Marcy did. Sometimes she'd call me just to tell me that she was thinking about me. 'Hey Bella, I'm drinking coffee. I was just thinking about you. Love you, bye.'" I mimicked her and looked up. Edward brought his thumb over and wiped away a tear that had fallen. His thumb was smooth and it was gone too quickly.

"I just miss hearing her voice. At the time it was annoyingly endearing, but I never realized how loved I felt after those phone calls. Our mother was never really emotional with us. My dad was. He gave the best hugs. Carmen took after him. She was always a hugger. Even if she just met you she would hug you. She was so loving. She loved me so much. I never realized how much I needed it until she was gone." I turned my face into my arm and Edward wiped away the tears streaming down my cheeks. His eyes glistened and he moved closer to me.

"Eleazar was the only friend I had who believed I was better than my actions." He said quietly. His hand still clutched my face as I looked at him.

"I was okay for a while before I met Victoria. I had good grades, perfect parents, and I was in baseball. Eleazar and I have been friends since we were little. We were friends through every stage of my life." He laughed a little. "My sports stage, my drums stage. I was obsessed with skinny pants and learning how to play drums. He just shook his head and gave me shit about it, but he was still my best friend." He moved his hand from my face and played with a piece of my hair. I watched him twirl it around his finger a few times.

"And even after I met Victoria my senior year and I started changing. I knew he hated who I was becoming, who I was starting to be. But for the life of me I couldn't find it in myself to just stop and listen to the words he was trying to beat into my head. A few times I quit talking to him and I tried to beat the shit out of him a few times when I was drunk. He always pinned my arms around my head and sat on me until I was done. And when I was he would sit me at the table and force feed me with coffee and food, trying to sober me up." He laughed again. "I was fucking stupid. And every time she broke my heart he let me sit on his couch for the appropriate amount of days before forcing me out of that place and whipping me back into a human being. And he still talked to me every time I went back to her. It was a vicious cycle and if I could I would take it back in a second. When I think about it, a lot of the time spent with him was wallowing about a bitch that would swallow me whole and then spit me out on his porch. But these last few years have been good. We've been great these last few years. If we hadn't, it would tear me apart more than it already does. But I know that asshole is still kicking my ass even though I can't hear his incessant bullshit." We laughed and he finally looked into my eyes.

"I guess I lied when I said my worst date was the girl spilling food into my lap. The worst date I've ever been on, I asked Victoria to marry me and she laughed. She said there was no way she was getting married. Everyone at the restaurant just stared at me. I could literally feel their pity burning my skin." I traced his cheek bone and frowned.

"What a cunt." I commented. He burst out laughing and grabbed the hand that was tracing his features and held it.

We sat there for a moment in a comfortable silence. I was starting to fall asleep when he said my name softly.

"Yes?" I opened my eyes and looked at him. He was staring intently at me, his eyes burning holes into mine. He kissed my hand and smiled.

"Thank you for not running away after I told you that." I smiled back.

"You didn't run after my sob story. If that doesn't say something about you I don't know what does." He pursed his lips and then smirked.

"We're fucked up when it comes to relationships, aren't we?" I laughed quietly and rolled my eyes.

"I guess so."

I woke up the next morning and found myself curled against Edward. I turned around and looked at him. We had fallen asleep in here last night, and I couldn't decide if I felt weird about it or not. His eyes fluttered and he drew in a sharp breath before letting it out. He started to stir and grumble in his sleep. I held back a laugh and placed my hand on his bicep. He instantly calmed and rolled over, almost crushing me. I chuckled and shook him.

"Edward, wake up." I shook his arm again and he groaned.

"No, this bed is comfortable." He rolled away from me and I smiled.

"Fine, I'll go make breakfast." I hopped out of bed and went to check on Marcy. She had slept all night last night, and it was a really good sign. She had her wide brown eyes open but she was still lying down. She lifted her head and smiled at me as I neared.

"Hello baby! How are we this morning?" she stood and held on to the crib, bouncing her legs and giggling.

"Good!" I chirped back and picked her up. I changed her diaper and her clothes before bringing her downstairs. We reached the kitchen and I set her down in her highchair.

"We're going to make coffee and pancakes, I think." She burped and laughed.

"Sounds good to me too." I replied.

I busied myself and it was five minutes before Edward came down. I was sipping on a cup of coffee and flipping pancakes. He leaned down and gave Marcy a sloppy kiss on the cheek. She squealed and yelled 'gross.' It came out as 'gwoss' though.

I stopped flipping. Edward stood straight up. I moved to walk towards her and we both stood in front of her highchair.

"That was her first word." I said.

"Yup." He replied.

"Her first word was gross."

He smirked. "I know." we sat there for a few seconds before I smelled burning.

"Oh!" I squealed, running for the pan. I flipped the pancake and scratched at the burned remains with my spatula.

"So much for that." I said, tossing the pancake in the trash. I turned the heat off. There were still two stacks that I had managed to perfect. Edward ate six of them and Marcy ate one.

I sat back and drank coffee, because I always ate while I cooked. It was a bakery thing.

"I'm still thinking about the fact that her first word was gross." Edward looked up with a mouthful.

"Atleast it wasn't-"

"Ma." Marcy interrupted him, pointing at me. "Ma. Mam." I froze. Mom. I looked at Edward, horror obvious on my face. She wouldn't stop saying it. She started banging her fork on her tray, trying to get my attention. Edward set his fork down and reached across the table for my hand, which was apparently shaking. I didn't know. I couldn't feel it.

"It's not such a bad thing, Bella." I shook my head and pulled my hand up. I had to call Alice. I didn't know what to do at this point. Marcy had just called me mom.

I pulled my phone from my purse and locked myself in my bedroom. It rang four times before she picked up.

"Hello?" she sounded groggy, like she had just gotten up. I looked at the clock on my wall. 9:30am.

"Alice it's 9:30. You're usually up and at the bakery by 5." She sighed.

"I know I know. I drank too much last night and overslept." It sounded like she was moving around.

"Alice.." I heard running water as she tried to talk to me as she brushed her teeth.

"Anyway. My date was nice. He took me to the cutest little restaurant and then we went to a bar. We were-"

"Marcy called me mom." She stopped talking. Both of our lines were silent. "Her first word was gross, quickly followed by mom. Well, Ma. And then Mam. I don't know what to do. I feel weird." I heard her sigh deeply and I heard the water shut off.

"Bella, what did you think she would call you? You are the only motherly figure she will ever have. Do you want her to call you Aunt Bella?" I started to cry.

"I don't know Alice that's why I'm calling you." She sighed again.

"Oh honey, I'm sorry. Here I am rambling on about my date while you're in the middle of a semi-crisis." I didn't say anything.

"Honestly I think you should just let it be. You'll be the only mother she will know because you're the only one she can remember. But that doesn't mean when she gets older she can't know about Carmen. Right now you need to accept that you're taking on the mom role, therefore this is a beautiful thing." I whimpered as tears started running down my face.

"I feel terrible. I get to see these things that Carmen will never get to experience, Alice. I don't feel right, I feel like I'm replacing her in Marcy's life." I held back a sob.

"Bella, these are normal feelings I swear. It's going to be hard for a while, but it will get easier. I promise. You have great people in your life that love you. It won't always be bad." I nodded even though she couldn't see me. I felt a little bit better but I still felt weird. We hung up a few minutes later and I sat on my bed, feeling weird and ridiculous.

I don't know what I expected Marcy to call me. I didn't think about the mom aspect of this end.

There was a knock on my door that shook me out of my thoughts. I opened it and smiled sheepishly at Edward. He held Marcy and smiled.

"Are you okay?" he asked. I opened the door wider and he walked in, sitting on my bed and bouncing Marcy on his knee.

"Just wait until she calls you dad. You'll understand how I feel." I said. I sat down next to him and he grimaced.

"I feel like we're replacing them in her life." I commented quietly. Marcy played with the buttons on his shirt and she held one up to me, smiling brightly.

"Mum." I cringed but gave her a small smile.

He looked at me. His eyes were a deep green today; the gold flecks weren't as visible. It matched his shirt.

"I look at it this way. We will never replace them, Bella. But they would rather it be us than anyone else. With them gone, we are all that's left for her. Besides other family, obviously. I feel like this is me repaying him for all of the times that he's picked me up off of the ground. I'm repaying him by loving her and taking care of her because he can't. But I will never replace him, and you will never replace her, because we won't let that happen. When she's much older, she'll know. But right now, we're all she has." He smiled at me and then at her as she poked his chin with her tiny fingers. He had a five a 'clock shadow and it suited him.

"I don't think I'd mind if she called me dad. It would freak me out, don't get me wrong, but it's just another step of me being there for him like all of the times he's been there for me." He kissed her forehead and grabbed my hand. I interlocked our fingers and looked at him.

"Edward. I could have never done this without you." I whispered, tears filling my eyes once again. He reached our hands up to my face and wiped at the ones the fell.

"I feel the same way about you."

**A/N: **I don't want to talk about how terrible a person I am because you guys already know. ))))))))): I'M SORRY! I made sure to make this extra-long with lots of fluffy things because I am a TERRIBLE PERSON I'M SORRY I LOVE YOU PLEASE LOVE MY BACK I'M BACK ON A REGULAR UPDATE SCHEDULE BUT I KNOW I KNOW I need to earn your trust back my lovelies but PELASE tell me what you thought in a review! I'm feeling moderately self-conscious about this chapter.

-Olive


	8. Chapter 8: The Heat and The Heart

**Disclaimer: **_SM owns twilight, I just steal her Barbie's and make them do dirty things._

**A/N: **I'm actually updating on time this week you guys. Tis thanksgiving here in the U S of A, and I am feeling grateful. You are all precious, precious angels and I love you so, so much. Thank you for taking time out of your day to read my tiny little story and give me reviews. I want to kiss all of your faces.

Updating is going to be kind of hard for the time being because school is a priority for me at the moment. I have a lot of stuff on my plate, (as much as I wish it was turkey and cranberry sauce, it isn't.), so I'm going to try and update as often as I can. Thanks to everyone who is still with me, you guys are awesome.

**Bella POV**

The weeks flew by, and all too soon it was Marcy's birthday. She had started to pull herself up on furniture, attempting to walk. We had a few close calls with the edge of the coffee table, and Edward and I were becoming restless. We jumped every time she fell on her butt near any sharp edge. I was seriously considering looking on the internet for a way to baby-proof coffee tables. She would crawl everywhere, and we couldn't keep our eyes off of her for more than a second or else she'd disappear.

"No! Marcy, no! That is very bad! You don't do that!" I heard Edward let out a frustrated groan from the bathroom.

"Bella, can you come here for a sec." I got up from my stool in the kitchen where I had been frosting cupcakes.

Nothing prepared me for what had happened, though. I started busting out laughing.

"This is not funny." He pouted.

"No, no it's actually really funny." Marcy giggled and bounced her legs before wobbling back and falling on her butt.

"Ma-ma." She said as she reached her sticky, toothpaste covered fingers towards me. She had rubbed toothpaste all over the toilet. Inside, outside, the floor surrounding it and the bath tub. She also had Edward's toothbrush in her hand, scrubbing the inside of the bowl.

"That's what you get for leaving the cap off of the toothpaste. How did she even get it off the counter?" I asked, bending over to pick her up so I could bath her. Edward groaned as he began cleaning up.

"I don't know, and I don't care. Can you hand me that sponge." I chuckled and threw it to him.

"Okay, I'm going bathe her. Alice will be here with the decorations in a few minutes." He nodded and went back to cleaning. Marcy tried to stick her fingers in her mouth but I brought them away from her face.

"Oh no you don't. That's yucky. Say 'that's yucky.'" I tickled her side and kissed her cheek as she giggled and tried to say yucky.

"Jucky." She said, clapping her toothpaste hands together and laughing louder.

"That's right, baby." I cooed. I set her on the floor and ran the water for a few minutes before it reached the perfect temperature.

"Okay baby, it's time-" I turned to my left and the bathroom was empty. Trying not to panic, I stood and started calling for her.

"Marcy? Where are you sweetie? Marcy!" I yelled. Edward's head poked out from the other bathroom.

"You freaking lost her?" he said, exasperated.

"It's not my fault, the little turd is quick!" He poked back into the bathroom right as I spotted her, standing up on her own. Not holding onto anything.

"OH MY GOD, EDWARD, SHE'S ABOUT TO WALK!" I heard a big oomph in the bathroom and loud footsteps treading down the hall.

"STOP HER, WAIT, I WANT TO SEE. LET ME GET THE CAMERA." I started panicking.

"STOP HER? WHAT THE FUCK, HOW? HOW DO I-OH" I pushed her to her butt and her lip puckered.

"No, no, no don't cry I'm sorry good god okay no stand up for me again please come on..." I picked her up on her feet as Edward tripped over a toy and fell flat on his face into the room. He sat up and looked at her as she stomped her foot.

"Yes, that's it. Come on!" Edward cheered, scooting up into a sitting position.

"Walk to me, come here baby. Look-" he picked up her favorite stuffed animal and waved it at her. "Come get Mr. Snugglepuff. Come on, look, he wants a hug!" she giggled and bounced her knees before taking a tiny step. I cheered her on, excitement coursing through my entire body.

"That's it, come on Marcy! You can do it!" Edward moved a little bit closer so that she wouldn't have a far walk. She took a few steps before falling forward, her hands catching her tiny body. Edward and I both tensed, reaching for her. She just fell back on her butt and giggled happily, clapping her hands. Edward and I both looked at each other, completely ecstatic before clapping hysterically and loving up on her, giving her praise.

"Good girl, you are such a good girl Marcy!" Edward cooed at her as she clapped and hugged him.

"Today has already proven that it's going to be eventful." I said, picking Marcy up to bring her to her bath.

"Let's hope the rest of the day is as good as this morning."

An hour later the house was filled with pink and purple decorations. Streamers, balloons, plates, cups, napkins, the whole nine yards. She bought glittery hats and party poppers. Everything that could be at a 1 year olds birthday was there. She had even gone as far as renting a bounce house.

"Alice, you do know that half of these children can barely stand up, let alone jump in that thing." I said, putting the finishing touches on Marcy's cake. I placed the cupcakes evenly around the base before finishing cutting meats and cheeses.

"Well, yeah, but there are older kids too." I rolled my eyes and started plating the food.

Alice leaned against the counter beside me. "I still can't believe you pushed her down as she started to walk." I groaned and glared at her.

"I panicked." I heard her chuckle beside me.

"Yeah, yeah." She paused for a second, like she was going to say something else.

"Spit it out, Alice."

"How are you doing today?" it came out as a whisper, which finally made me look at her. I shrugged and willed the tears that had automatically appeared to go away.

"I mean… I'm just… I don't know anymore." She nodded and pursed her lips before hugging me from behind.

"It'll be okay. Just breathe. Enjoy everything you've been graced with." I nodded and she let go before grabbing the plates full of food and bringing them out to the table. I nodded again to myself and wiped my eyes as I followed her with the cake.

* * *

><p>"God, I hope I never have to do that again." Edward said as he collapsed against the couch. He had just finished putting Marcy to bed as I cleaned up the house. Spilled drinks and Cheetos filled the corners of the living room and kitchen. There were a few toddlers who came from Marcy's day care that I didn't know were coming. They thoroughly enjoyed the bounce house, and I had to admit that Alice had done a fantastic job planning the party. I had been quiet for the remainder of the day. I couldn't find it in me to enjoy anything, despite Alice's words. Edward had shadowed me the entire time, continuing to ask me if I was okay. I am. At least I think I am. I'm not. My mind is telling me that this is wrong in some way, even though I know it's not. I know that I am upholding a side of an agreement that we never made. She dies, I take care of Marcy. Plain and simple. It's still hard to think about. Some days I find myself staring at the door because I feel like she'll walk in at any moment and make some kind of joke about me replacing her.<p>

I finish wiping the counters and go to my room without saying anything to Edward. I'm only in there for ten minutes before I hear the door open.

He climbs into the bed beside me wordlessly and clutches me from behind. His chest is warm against my back as he pushes the hair from my eyes. It's like a chain reaction, because as soon as he does this I burst into tears. He lays his head against mine and holds me tighter.

"I miss her so much." I whispered. I felt him nod against me and I cried harder.

"I know, Bella. I know." I turn in his arms and stare into his eyes. They're an exceptional shade of green tonight as they fill with tears. He quickly wipes them away and a stern look comes across his features. I look down and start tracing circles on the skin showing above his collar. He shivers and guides my face up to meet his.

"Bella." I look at him through my tears. He starts to wipe them away before lowering his lips to my forehead. My eyes close and I tuck my face into his neck as he pulls away. He places his chin on the top of my head.

"You smell like vanilla and hazelnuts." He mumbles. I laugh and bring my face up to meet his.

"At first I thought you smelled like chocolate, but I feel like it changes every day. Sometimes you smell like brown sugar, which is awesome. But a touch of vanilla is always there. Wow, this probably sounds really creepy." A tiny blush smudges his cheeks.

"Oh my god, are you blushing?" I said, staring at him, a smile finally making its way onto my face.

"Nope. Nope." He tucks my head back into his neck and I chuckle. My phone starts vibrating in my pocket and I sigh as I hear my mom's ringtone play throughout the room. I reach behind me and pull it out.

"Hello mother." I say, putting it on speakerphone, my head still tucked into Edwards neck. His chest vibrates as he chuckles.

"Bella! Oh thank goodness, I didn't know if you'd be awake or not. It's 10 a'clock! You should be in bed! You know a lady needs her rest! It's why I look so young! I sleep as much as I can. It keeps the wrinkles away, you know." I sighed deeply and Edward had to turn his face away from me as he laughed. I slapped his chest and flipped him off.

"So which is it, mom. Would you rather I be sleeping or awake to take your phone call."

"Well you rarely EVER check your voicemail so I suppose this one time is okay."

"What is it you needed, exactly?" I ask as politely as I can manage. I've been trying to be nicer to her. She is one of the only family members I have left after all.

"Oh! Thank you! I forgot. Phil and I a renewing our wedding vowels!" she squealed. It took me a minute to reply.

"Mom, you've only been married for like 6 years. You usually do that for your 50th or something like that." She scoffed at me and continued yammering away.

"Well we're doing it. And it's next weekend, so I expect you to be here. Bring Edward as a date! Yes, that's a splendid idea! Of course you're bringing Marcy, god it's been ages since I've seen her. When was the last time? Oh drat, I can't remember." I rolled my eyes.

"Carmen's funeral, mom. That was the last time." She sighed deeply.

"Yes, that was it." We were silent for a few moments.

"But anyway!" she was back to her chipper old goddamn self. "It's next Saturday, I've already booked your tickets, Edward's as well. You need to be at the airport at 6:00, your flight is at 6:30 am Friday morning." I groaned loudly. She knows I'm not a morning person. I can guarantee the early flight was done out of spite. _Hey, that rhymed. _

"Of course, mother. I'll see you then." We hung up and I looked at Edward.

"Get ready to kill yourself, because we have to spend next weekend with my mother." He rolled his eyes at me.

"It can't be _that_ bad." I widened my eyes at him.

"You'll see. You will most certainly see." I warned.

Here comes the worst 72 hours of my life.

**A/N:** I don't know why it took me so long to finish this chapter. I was having a hard time with it. I think it's because every time I close my eyes the only things I see are bio tests and English essays.

College sucks.

All of my fellow Americans, I hope you have/had a wonderful thanksgiving!

**If you're still with me and you still love me, please review. It's honestly what keeps me going. You are all my squishies and I shall call you squishies. **

**Love you guys.**

**-Olive.**


	9. Chapter 9: You Could Be Happy

**Disclaimer: **_SM owns twilight, I just steal her Barbie's and make them do dirty things._

**A/N:Thank you guys for reviewing, it really is one of the only things that keeps me going. I loved the feedback! You are all fabulous. Next chapter is EPOV! Yayyyy! Edward! (;**

**BPOV:**

I'm actually 100% sure that the entire airport could hear my groans of protest. I felt like the sun was not on my side either as its rays pointed directly into my eyeballs. Almost like it was mocking me. Yeah, the sun was definitely mocking me. No matter which way I moved it was like it followed me. Finally I buried my head in my jacket and curled up on my side in the airport waiting area.

"Is the sun even supposed to be this bright at six o'clock? I thought it was supposed to be just rising at six. What is this blasphemy?" Edward laughed out loud at me as he bounced a sleeping Marcy in his arms. I poked my face out and shot him the meanest glare I could conjure up at such an early hour. It must not have been very affective because he only laughed harder.

* * *

><p>After an uneventful flight, we landed in Jacksonville. It was uncharacteristically chilly, with a darkening sky to match. It made my stomach fill with dread. Renee stood beside her car, which was parked in the drop off lane. She was waving her hands frantically, trying to get our attention.<p>

"If you groan one more time, I might chop your head off." Edward commented quietly, a smile on his face. My head whipped around.

"Wow, I did that out loud? I could have sworn that one was strictly internal." His grin widened. My stomach continued to do flips so after getting in the car, I leaned my head back on the head rest.

I felt a tap on my shoulder, forcing me to open the eyes I hadn't realized I closed.

"Are you okay?" Edward whispered to me. I nodded briskly before turning back to watch the road.

Renee's house looked the same. The living room was filled with plush brown couches, and the walls were filled with dream catchers and weird paintings.

"I set up the guest room for you, Edward. And Marcy's room should still be the same. You know where to find everything, Bella. Marcy and I are off to run some last minute errands. I need to go to the dress shop and make sure her dress fits. Don't get into too much trouble, kids." Renee actually winked at us.

I rolled my eyes and nodded before bringing Edward upstairs. I opened the door to my room and Edward laughed behind me.

"Don't make fun of me; I tried to clean it all out, but Renee refused. Something about sentimental value or some shit." My room was the same as when I was a teenager. Nothing was touched. Carmen's was the same way. My posters were all hanging in the same place and everything. It looked like it hadn't been touched in years, and I know that it hadn't. I rarely ever came home when I was a teenager. I spent most of my time at Jake's.

"Jesus christ, what the fuck is this?" I looked over and smiled as he sat back in one of my gamer chairs.

"You've never seen one of those before?" he furrowed his eyebrows.

"Um, no. What is it." I laughed as he scowled.

"It's a gamer chair, like you know; you sit in it when you play video games. You KNOW what video games are, don't you?" his scowl deepened, but I saw the corner of his mouth twitch as he held back a grin.

"Yes." He rolled the chair back and forth like a teeter totter. "What kind of games did you play?" I rolled my eyes.

"Zelda, Mario. All the classics and shit." He barked out a laugh and I sighed.

"Go ahead, make fun of me. But I wouldn't sit in that chair for too long, you don't want to know what has happened in it." He tried to jump up, but that is no simple task with these kinds of chairs. He fell face first into it and then screeched before pulling himself back up. I burst into a fit of laughter, clutching my knees with my hands and barely breathing.

"OH MY GOD! YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN YOUR FACE!" I shouted, slapping my knee before clutching it over my heart. Can you die from laughter? I could literally see the light. This was the end for me. Death by laughter.

"It's not funny." He pouted, which only made me laugh harder. I looked up and saw the grin spread across his face, and the glint of mischief in his eyes.

"Oh, no." I said, slowly backing up as I tried to catch my breath.

"Oh, yes." He said, lunging for me and grabbing me by my sides. He lightly dug his fingers into my skin and I screamed out loud. If I thought I couldn't breathe before, I was wrong. My lungs actually felt like they were about to split open as I screeched for him to stop. I grabbed onto his neck and we both went down, him landing on top of me, and my legs clutched around his middle. He ran a hand through his hair before placing both on the sides of my face. He started to open his mouth to say something, but then stopped. He brought one hand up to trace across my cheek and I shivered. I tightened my arms around his neck, which brought his face closer to mine. I could feel his hot breath on my neck as he brushed my hair aside, exposing my collar bone. He traced over it lightly before dragging his finger up to my chin, lifting my face towards him. Just as he was about to give me what I hadn't realized I wanted, a throat cleared from my doorway.

"Well, if this isn't a compromising position, I don't know what is." gasping, I looked towards the door. I squealed and Edward lifted himself up to a standing position, helping me along with him.

"Leah!" I yelled, running towards her and clutching her tightly.

"Watch it! Baby on board!" she said through her chuckles, hugging me tighter. I let her go and gasped loudly.

"It's getting so big, oh my god! Can I tough it?" I asked, curling my fingers together and bringing them to my cheeks. She rolled her eyes at me and nodded. Placing my hand on her stomach, I felt around a little bit.

"Your stomach is so hard, oh my god. He's not moving, though." She sighed.

"I wish he was like this all of the time. Usually he's kicking up a storm every hour of every day. Oh, there he goes." She grabbed my hand and brought it lower, and I felt his tiny feet kicking against my hand. I had forgotten that Edward was there until Leah spoke again.

"So, are you going to introduce me to your friend, here?" she winked at me and I could feel my cheeks heat up under her scrutiny.

"Oh, um. Sorry. This is Edward. He was at Carmen and Eleazar's wedding, he's Eleazar's best friend." She smiled widely, and as Edward extended his hand, she pulled him into a hug. It was only for a few seconds, and then she pulled away, wiping a tear from her cheek.

"Sorry, I'm not usually like this. This freaking child has my hormones all out of whack. Ow, okay, damn, boy. I'm sorry, I didn't mean it!" she said, rubbing a spot where the baby had apparently kicked hard.

"Well, we can already see that he'll have your snarky attitude." I said, smiling at her and then Edward. He smiled back at me.

"Come on, let's go have some lunch." Leah said, grabbing my hand and pulling me out of the room. Edward followed us, and 10 minutes later we're sitting at a diner we always used to come too as teenagers.

"Get the Buffalo burger, it's the best." I told Edward. He nodded and smiled. After we ordered we sat there, sipping our drinks.

"So how are things going?" Leah asked, looking at both of us.

"Good I guess." I shrugged as Leah scowled.

"How's Marcy?" I smiled widely.

"Perfect. Except she's crawling, and we're just getting her to walk, so now we can't keep our eyes off of her like, ever, or she crawls off and we have to find her. But she's been good. She just had her birthday a week ago. We're STILL trying to get the Cheetos stain out of the carpets." I rolled my eyes as she laughed.

"Okay, I have to use the bathroom, get up." I pushed Edwards shoulder lightly and he scooted out of the booth. I could close my eyes and find everything in this diner; I had been to it so much. I pushed through the heavy door and walked into a stall. I tried not to think about what happened in my room and how much I had liked it. At that moment, I had wanted him to kiss me so badly. I knew I was attracted to him, but I didn't know to what extent until earlier today. But I knew that I shouldn't have these feelings for him. What if we end up together and it doesn't work out, then that puts pressure on the household, and on Marcy. No, I can't do that. I finished and exited the stall to wash my hands.

"Bella? Oh my god! Bella Swan!" I turned to the left and saw Jessica Stanley, an old sort-of friend from high school. And she had the biggest tits I had ever seen in my life. They were never that big, she must have gotten them re-done, because holy shit. I must have said that out loud because she giggled before propping herself up against the sinks.

"I know, right! Mike got them for me. Something about a remodel, but aren't they fabulous? Touch them, they even feel real!" I balked at the idea as I dried my hands.

"No, no thank you. I'm good." I laughed. She rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. Who are you with out there? I thought it was you but I didn't want to embarrass myself in front of the whole diner by calling your name if it wasn't you." She chattered on incessantly, actually causing a headache to form at my temples.

"My friend, Edward. And you remember Leah." She rolled her eyes and let her lip curl in distaste.

"Yes. I heard she had married Sam and gotten pregnant." I rolled my eyes at her reaction. They had never gotten along in high school. This didn't surprise me considering the fact that Jessica had loved Sam her entire life. It caused an extreme ripple in all of our friendships when Leah got together with him.

"Yup, happily married. They already have a little one running around, this is their second." I smiled at her and tried to walk around her but she stopped me.

"You banging Edward?" she asked with a smirk.

"God, Jessica. No." I sighed.

"Not yet, at least. I saw the way he kept looking at you. And the way you kept looking at him…" I nodded and walked around her. This time she let me, and I walked back to our table. Edward and Leah seemed to be deep in conversation, so I cleared my throat. Edward jumped before scooting out of the booth to let me in. Our food came a second after, and we all began to stuff our faces. The silence didn't seem tense, but it definitely wasn't comfortable. I looked at Edward and he stared back. There was a storm of conflicting emotions rolling around his eyes. I put my burger down and looked at Leah. She smiled at me, acting as if nothing was wrong. She was humming as she ate, and soon Edward seemed to have calmed down, because he was laughing and they were playing a game of Guess That Song. Leah finished the last bits of her burger and took a drink before humming her next song.

"Don't Stop Believing. Come on, Journey? Everyone could guess that song. _Infants_could guess that song!" Edward exclaimed. She rolled her eyes at him and sighed.

"Is everyone done? I'm feeling extremely tired." She said, yawning to prove her point. I popped another fry in my mouth before nodding. Everyone was quiet again in the car, but this time it was comfortable.

"I ran into Jessica Stanley in the bathroom." Leah sighed.

"I know. I saw her get up from her table. I think everyone in this town could spot her from a mile away. Those knockers…" I laughed.

"Oh I know. She told me to touch them because they feel so real." Leah gasped before busting out laughing.

"Did you do it?" I looked at her in disbelief.

"Are you fucking kidding me? No! There is no way I would touch those with a ten foot pole! I don't know where they've been." I told her. We laughed and let the silence come over us once again. Leah shifted in her seat uncomfortably. At first I thought it was the baby, but then she huffed out a heavy sigh.

"Spit it out, Leah. You want to say something." I looked over at her and then back at Edward. She sighed again.

"Ask something, actually. I want to ask something." I nodded, signaling her to go on.

"Did she… Fuck. Okay. Did she ask about Sam? Or Me? What did she say… Did she say anything about us?" She looked nervous and fidgety. I had never seen her act that way. Something was wrong.

"She said she heard that you guys got married. But that was it. Why?" She huffed quietly and I waited for her to respond.

"I wasn't going to tell you this. But… Um. Sam was having his bachelor party with Jake, Embry, you know. Their usual group. They were at the bar and uh… He got really drunk. And she um." She paused to swallow and I saw a small tear escape from out of the corner of her eye.

"Did he cheat on you?" I ask, suddenly infuriated. If Jake was there, why didn't he fucking do something? Leah is his sister. He would never let anyone hurt her, so what was his fucking problem?

"No, I mean. Not really. Kind of, except no. He was really, really drunk. Like black out drunk…" She made excuses.

"Leah, fucking tell me what happened." She sighed sadly.

"Don't be mad at Jake. He was out in his car. He didn't know. I can see it in your eyes. You're blaming him."

"Leah." I warned. Her lip quivered.

"She went down on him, but I mean that's it. He didn't really know what was happening, and Embry told me she came storming out of the backroom, really angry. Later on when Sam was sobering up, he realized what had happened, and said that it was because he called her Leah on accident or something. I don't know, it's really complicated and we worked it out. That was probably two years ago. He begged me for forgiveness. And I love him, Bella. I really do. Please don't hate him. We've worked it out and everything is good." I nodded, still fuming on the inside. The car was silent the rest of the way home, because I knew that if I tried to talk it would be harsh and mean, which would only hurt Leah more. So I sat back and tried to be a good friend. When we got to the house I opened my door and walked around the car to her side. Even though I had calmed down a bit, some bitter feelings still rolled around in me. I helped her out of the car and squeezed her hand tightly before letting go. Edward stood next to me and kept his hand on the small of my back. I could feel the warmth racing through me, and I calmed down even more.

"Come on, let's have some coffee." Edward said, smiling at both of us. Leah smiled back gratefully.

"You know what? I like you Edward. I don't like very many people. You'll be great for Bella." She smirked slyly and I silently cursed her.

"Maybe you can get her to come home more often. Like two months from now, for Sam Junior's birth." She smiled widely.

"Yeah Leah, like I would miss that." I snorted, but feelings of dread still filled my stomach. She nodded, clearly remembering how I had ditched Emily's birth. It was a year after Jake and I broke up. There was no way I could come back here so soon after that. She had forgiven me, clearly understanding why I couldn't go. But she was still hurt. Edward went into the kitchen and dug around a little bit before grumbling to himself.

"You okay in there?" I called from the couch, smiling.

"How do you work this god damn space coffee pot?" he called back.

Leah and I laughed, and I got up from my spot to walk in to show him. Renee was really big on the latest trends, and this coffee pot was some high tech shit to 'improve the smooth taste' or something like that. I popped in the filter and scooped grounds into it.

"Where do you put the water?" Edward asked. I pointed to the side and showed him it was already filled.

"This one already has water in it." I smiled at him and leaned back against the counter. It brews fast, and I pull three cups down from the cabinet. After fixing mine, I fix Leah's. We walk back into the living room and after handing Leah her cup, I sit down. Edward sits next to me and for the next hour or so we catch up. I ask how Emily is, she asks how I am. Edward interjects politely, laughing at the stories we tell from our childhood.

"Well, I better get going. Sam keeps blowing up my phone. Bella, walk me to the car." She smiles as Edward helps her up from her chair. I help her put her jacket back on and we walk in silence. I open her car door and she turns to me.

"How are you feeling?" she asks me. I knew it was coming, but I still feel my heart twist.

"Fine. Better now. It's not as hard, but it still hurts. I still wake up in fear in the middle of the night. But other than that, Edward helps me out a lot." I smile. "One time I woke up screaming, and Edward ran into my room. He took me down stairs and made me tea and we baked muffins. He's great." She smiled happily, but then her eyebrows furrowed.

"He keeps asking about you." I instantly knew which 'he' she was talking about.

"Why." I say, casting my eyes downward.

"They're on the splits. Tanya cheated on him last year. They've been having problems ever since." I nodded. It's a big dose of karma that he deserves. I think it's ironic that he cheated on me with her, and now she's cheating on him with someone else. I wonder if he thinks about me and asks himself if this was how I felt. I want to ask him how it feels to be cheated on by someone you love.

"Tell him to fuck off." I gave her a smile as she laughs.

"That's funny, because that's what I have been telling him. Every time he comes to visit Emily he's like 'Where's Bella?', 'How is she doing?', 'Does she still have the bakery?' Stupid shit like that. I always tell him you're doing wonderful, that you love the bakery and that you're even buckling down and going on dates. On that last part, he always cringes. I get some kind of sick joy out of seeing him hurt over you. I know I shouldn't feel that way because he's my brother, but he's stupid. He fucked up." I nodded and smiled at her. She turns her head to the side, a wide grin overtaking her face.

"I'm so glad that Edward's in your life. Now I get to put a name on the fake boyfriend tales I tell him." I roll my eyes at her, and suddenly she's very serious.

"Bella. I don't know if they're going to be at the wedding tomorrow. Last time he called, they were in Washington, visiting Tanya's parents. Something about marriage counseling. They aren't due back until next week, so I highly doubt that they'll be there. But if he is… Just… I don't know. You have Edward. And you have me. So remember that…" She looked as if she was going to say something else, but my heart was beating too fast to hear it even if she did. I nodded as she sat down in the driver's seat. She closed the door and rolled her window down.

"Bella?" I turn back and look at her. "I just want you to be happy. Please tell me you're happy." I smile widely at her. How many good things do I have in my life? Marcy, Edward, Leah, Emmett, Alice. And even Rose. We had gotten extremely close after our first meeting.

"I'm happy, Leah." She smiled and nodded before driving away.

* * *

><p>The next day was actually miserable. I pulled the dress up over myself and balked. I tried to pull the zipper up, but it was so tight.<p>

"Mom, you got the wrong goddamn size!" I yell from my room. She walks in and claps happily.

"Oh no, dear, they're supposed to be tight. Here, let me zip you up!" she exclaims. If I thought it was tight without it zipped, I was wrong on so many levels. It wasn't as tight in the bust, and I filled it out nicely. A little too much cleavage was showing for my taste, but I frowned when I looked down by my waist.

"Mom, were mermaid dresses really necessary. I feel like I'm going to bust out of this at any second." She rolls her eyes at me.

"Bella, it's perfect. You look absolutely stunning. And Edward's going to love you in it." I huffed out an angry sigh.

"Mom." I warned. Her eyebrows furrow.

"Bella, you are going to act like this is the first time I'm getting married, and you are going to like it." She comments playfully. She finally smiles at her, and I roll my eyes before smiling as well. I look myself over again and smile a little to myself.

"It is beautiful, though. And I do look fucking great in it." Mom tapped me on the butt.

"Atta girl." I rolled my eyes as she walks away.

We meet Edward and Phil at the venue, and Edward's eyes widen. He almost drops Marcy when he looks at me, so yeah. I'm feeling pretty good. He walks up and smiles.

"Bella, you look amazing." He comments, his smirk fully in place. I pat his cheek.

"Thank you. So do you, by the way." It's his turn to roll his eyes at me. He's wearing a light grey suit, the jacket button is open. He has on a white button down, and a peach colored that matches my dress.

"Did you do that on purpose?" I ask, smirking back at him. He laughs.

"Actually, no. Your mom picked it out for me, so I'm not shocked that we match. It was probably planned." Due to Marcy's curious hands, one side of his collar is flipped up and his tie is crooked. I reach up to fix it, tightening the tie and flipping his collar down. I pat away dust and drag my hands down to straighten it. I smile and look back up into his eyes.

"Thank you." He whispers.

"You're welcome." I can barely whisper out. His eyes are so green tonight, and the color of his tie really brightens them. My eyes flick down to his lips, and when I look up, his tongue darts out to lick his bottom lip.

"Edward, I-…" We're interrupted by a voice I have tried to forget for years.

"Bella." I look over, and my heart drops into my stomach.

**A/N: DUN DUH DUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN. Okay, a little over dramatic. But that tie fixing was fucking cute. I threw up a little bit in my mouth just typing it, that's how cute it was. _YOU CAN SEE WHAT HER DRESS LOOKS LIKE IF YOU GO TO MY POLYVORE, THE LINK IS ON MY PROFILE!_ Tell me what you guys think! Next chapter is Edward's POV! So let's see how he reacts to our little visitor. Who do you think it is? (;**

**-Olive**


	10. Chapter 10: Cross My Heart

**Disclaimer: **_SM owns twilight, I just steal her Barbie's and make them do dirty things._

**A/N: Trying to keep it moderately short, but much love for **_**Holidai **_**for pointing out my little Jessica Stanley slip up. I had her as the social worker. I'm embarrassed. I've fixed it, though. **

**Also, sorry for the delay in updating. I haven't had very much time to write lately. And I really need to find a beta. I would prefer it if they had already written and posted a story to fanfic dot net. So if anyone is interested, PM me! Also please go around and spread the word to all of your fanfic buddies that I am in desperate need of a good beta. I will be forever in your debt. **

**I love every single one of you for sticking with me! Get to readin' my dearies!**

**EPOV**

The color drains from Bella's face, making it take on an unnatural shade of white. She turns her head slightly and a look of absolute horror takes over her features. As I pull her in close to me, her arms automatically go around my waist. I get some kind of sick joy out of the look on his face, and I know I shouldn't. I have no right to feel as territorial as I do.

So this is Jacob. I take a moment to size him up, and find that I don't feel at all threatened. He's wearing a black tux with a dark blue tie, and his short hair has too much gel in it.

"Bella." He says it again and takes a small step forward. "Can we talk?" The arm around my waist tightens and I can feel her body stiffen beside me. I try really hard not to notice how tightly we're pressed together. He takes a few more steps, which is when I decide to intervene.

"Bella and I actually have somewhere to be." I pry her arms from around her and grab her hand, dragging her into the closest room and shutting the door behind us. She drops my hand and paces back and forth.

"What the fuck. What. The fuck. What. The. FUCK!" she throws her hands up before clutching her dress tightly.

"I can't fucking breathe, jesus christ I can't breathe. Edward. Unzip me." I immediately walk forward and help her unzip the beautiful contraption and as soon as it's done she continues to pace.

"Nope. That didn't help. I'm about to have a panic attack." I walk towards her again as she continues to ramble.

"Bella." She starts to fiddle with her hair and looks towards me.

"What. What do I do?" I grab her arms and run my hands down them before clutching onto her hands. She sighs and her lip puckers, and I know she's about to burst into tears. I cradle her face in my hands and look into her eyes.

"Bella, please don't cry. You have me right here next to you. I'm not leaving. I'm right here. He can't hurt you. Do you understand me?" her lip continues to quiver, but she nods her head. I pull her into me and hug her tightly. I can feel her tears soaking through my shirt.

"Why did he have to come, Edward? Why did Renee have to fucking invite him." She clutches her arms around my torso tightly.

"I don't know, baby. I don't know." She started sniffling and pulled her face away from my chest. Her mascara was a little runny, and it made me chuckle because she was still so fucking beautiful.

"Edward."

"Yes?" I smiled and rubbed my thumb along her cheekbone. She smiled up at me, her big brown eyes shining.

"Thank you. For everything." I kiss her forehead and pull her into me once again. We sat like that for a few minutes before she pulled away.

"Okay, we have to go out there. Zip me up" She turns her back to me and I catch a glimpse of her white lacy underwear. No bra. I almost groan out loud as I slowly zip her up, dragging my finger up her bare back as I go. She shivers under my touch, and this time I actually do groan.

"Edward." It comes out as a whisper, and I catch her gaze in the mirror. The intensity almost makes me look away, but I don't.

"Yes?" I pull the zipper up the rest of the way and she turns around.

"Thank you for coming with me today. I don't know if I could have done it by myself. Especially with him here." I push a stray hair behind her ear and sigh.

"If you keep thanking me I'm going to kill you." I say with a smile. She slaps my shoulder lightly and laughs. "Also, you don't have to thank me. I go wherever you go, love." The look on her face as she smiles up at me has me grinning like an idiot. I want to kiss her. God, do I want to kiss her. I don't know if it's too soon or if I should even want these thoughts at all, but I can't push them away. No matter how hard I try, I can't push down my attraction for her. Everything about her is beautiful. I hate feeling conflicted, and I hate not being able to talk about things. I am in a constant battle of whether or not to bring it up with her. It isn't usually this hard for me. But one little wrong slip could make things awkward, and we have Marcy's entire life together. I know I can't fuck this up. But these conflicting thoughts don't stop me from leaning towards her right now. It takes me a millisecond to realize that she's leaning towards me as well, and then our lips touch. And it is everything.

I pull her body tightly against mine and let my hand slip around to her neck. Her skin is soft, and it makes me clutch her tighter to me. I think I'm in love with her. The little sighs that escape her mouth as she thinks. The way her eyes light up when she laughs. I am even in love with the way her eyebrows pull together in frustration. I realize that I am fucking gone, and I don't ever want to come back. I love the way her body feels flush against mine, even under all of our clothes. This sudden clarity makes me wonder if there was ever a time where I wasn't in love with her. Everything seems hard without her. I know that I wouldn't have survived Eleazar's death without her by my side. I felt like I lost everything, and then gained back so much more. He's probably looking down on me, calling me an idiot for not doing this sooner, but still insisting that she's too good for me.

God, don't I know it. It felt like seconds before we finally pulled away, both breathing heavily. Both smiling like a bunch of goddamn fools.

"Oh my god." She sighs, and I can only nod before placing my forehead on hers.

"You have NO idea how long I've wanted to do that." I say, wrapping my arms tighter, if at all possible, around her.

"Not as long as I've wanted to." She whispers before closing her eyes. A loud knock on the door disturbs us, and I groan before reluctantly pulling away.

"Go away!" I yell, chuckling quietly.

"We should probably get back out there." She says, sighing and taking a peek at herself in the mirror. I stand behind her and hear her gasp.

"Oh no! I got makeup on your shirt!" I look down and see where my suit jacket barely covers the black smudges.

"I think it'll be okay…" I say, pulling my jacket aside to assess the damage.

"No, no, no, you need a new shirt." She opens the closet door and I can hear her cursing to herself. "Yes! It's still here!" she throws a white shirt at me and rushes to the mirror to fix her make up.

"Renee bought a few white shirts for Phil, because he can't keep a shirt clean for less than five minutes. It might be a little big, I'm sorry." She gives me a sheepish grin and I roll my eyes before taking off my jacket and unbuttoning my shirt. I see her cast her eyes sideways in the mirror and almost laugh as I pull the shirt on and button it up.

"No, it fits fine." I say, tucking the shirt into my pants. As I start to redo my belt, the door bursts open and three people stumble into the room. Renee laughs, and Leah just punches Jacob in the arm.

"They're fine. MORE than fine. What are you worried about, you idiot? Come on." Leah sighs and drags a furious looking Jacob out of the room. I definitely don't miss the wink that she throws at Bella before she turns the corner. Renee grabs the door handle and bows.

"Sorry to interrupt, children. As you were…" She grins and chuckles again to herself.

"Wait, mom, no…" Bella tries to say, but the door is already shut.

"What just happened?" I ask, looking at her. Her eyes are wide as she shakes her head.

"I have no fucking idea." She turns back to the mirror and continues applying mascara and lipstick.

"Okay how do I look?" she says, turning to me and smiling.

I smile back. "Perfect." I lean forward and quickly kiss her before pulling away. "Now where's my tie?"

"I don't know." She replies, leaning up on her toes and kissing me again.

"Ew, lipstick tastes weird." I comment, bending down to kiss her jaw instead. She only laughs and pulls away, throwing my tie around my neck in the process. As she starts to tie it, I smile at her and trace her jaw with my fingertips.

"We're going to have to talk about this later, aren't we." She frowns slightly as she tightens my tie.

"Yeah. But I don't think it will be THAT difficult." She smiles, pulling my tie down so my head is level with hers.

"Thank-" I stop her with a kiss.

"What did I tell you?" I tease as I pull away.

"Alright we really have to get out there now." I let out an annoyed sigh.

"Fine." I grab her hand tightly and we walk out together.

The rest of the night goes by moderately smoothly. At the insistence of Renee, we both walk Marcy down the aisle, both holding each of her tiny hands. When we take our seats and turn to watch Renee take her turn, I accidently catch Jacob's eye, and he glares at me. I only roll my eyes and my hand finds Bella. She turns and smiles at me, a breathtaking smile that almost makes my heart stop. Throughout the night, people stop by our table to express their condolences or gratitude that Marcy has such great people in her life. I don't know how many hands I've had to shake, or how many faked smiles I've had to plaster on my face. My cheeks hurt, but it doesn't stop me from smiling at Bella as she grasps my hand tightly under the table.

As soon as we're rounding up Marcy to leave, Leah finds Bella and pulls her aside.

"I'll only take her for a minute, Edward. Don't give me that face." She laughs at me and I roll my eyes.

"I'm going to pull the car around, okay?" Bella smiles at me and nods.

I know she's with Leah, but it doesn't stop my stomach from turning. Jacob could be anywhere, and I don't like the thought of not being by her side while he's still here. I sigh and pull myself together as I pull the car around to the front and park.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: (READ IT PLEASE.) I'm so sorry for the late update. It was so hard to write this chapter and I don't know why. I've literally sat down so many times to write it, and then I write a little bit, and then I can't write anymore. And then I go back at another time to write some more, and don't like what I wrote the last time, so I delete like half of it. I totally didn't write and re-write this chapter 6 times. (Except I definitely did.) But mushy, love-sick Edward is so cute and fluffy I almost want to vomit. Almost.**

**In other important life news, I got a kitten. And I named her Butters. She's not really a kitten, she's kind of like…a teenager? I don't know. Anyway, my best friend was like:**

"**Hey. I rescued a cat. Do you wa-"**

"**Yes."**

**That is how that conversation went.**

**Also, the plot bunnies have completely taken over my brain, and it's so bad. IT'S SO BAD. I have so many ideas shaking through my skull and I write them down but I'm just like UGHEWRVNIQNEKNCKJNSECVKNQI3N VWEFVKJN QLEJRN FV. (emotions.)**

***le sigh.**

**See you next time!**

**Love you guys who are still sticking with me. I know it's a rough patch, and things will pick up. So thanks so much!**

**-Olive.**


	11. Chapter 11: Pride

**A/n: I read over this story and I'm not very happy with the quality of my writing. I think that as I update, I'm going to go back and fix grammar mistakes. I ALSO REALLY NEED A BETA, JUST IN CASE ANY OF THE LOVELY BETA'S ON THIS WEBSITE IS INTERESTED IN PICKING UP THIS STORY. I WILL BE FOREVER INDEBTED TO YOU. Anyway. Sorry it's been so long. I graduated from college and my life has been a roller coaster. I also met a very cute guy, and I'm pretty excited about it. Anyway. You guys know the drill.**

**Thanks for putting up with my shit.**

**BPOV**

I'm usually not a very paranoid person, but at this current moment my stomach is in knots. I feel bad for leaving Edward with Marcy, and I feel even worse knowing that Jacob is around and Edward isn't here to save me. I'm instantly angry that I need someone to save me, but I'm so uneasy about this situation that knowing someone could save me from myself comforts me. Leah leads me into the great hall where the ceremony was held, and a lone figure stands in the middle. Everyone else has left. Except for him.

"Leah, what the fuck is wrong with you?" I say, jerking my hand out of her grasp. She stops short and sorrow is all over her features.

"Bella, I'm sorry. He's my brother. You know I think Edward is perfect for you, and Jacob said he just wants to talk to you. I swear I'll be here the entire time. I just... I'm sorry." I'm so angry at her that I can't even speak. I don't get a chance too anyway, because Jacob comes forward and cuts off anything I might have said.

"Don't blame her. She owed me. I beat the shit out of Sam after everything that happened. I just want to talk. 5 minutes, that's it. I swear. And then you can go back to Edwin, or whatever his name is. I just want to apologize." I am furious. I can't believe what's happening, I honestly can't. I'm angry at Leah for subjecting me to this insanity. I just want to go home. Some delusional part of me is screaming for Jacob. It's a sorrowful part of me that I hadn't paid any attention to for years. I know that he's a horrible person. I'm a horrible person for wanting him. But then again, I spent most of my life with this idiotic man.

"Then apologize, and I'll be on my way. To _Edward._" he flinches when I say his name, and Leah tries to put a comforting hand on my back, but I shake it off. I look at her just in time to see the hurt flicker across her face.

"Leah, can you give me a second." Jake says. Leah backs up just three tiny steps. When Jacob realizes that it's the only space he's going to get, he steps forward. It takes all I have in me not to flinch away.

"Bella, I miss you. And I'm sorry, please understand that. If I could go back and take away everything I did, I would. In a heartbeat. Because I love you. I still do. And I always will. It...hurts me to see that you're with someone else. But I can't do anything about it, because I fucked up."

"Yeah, you fucked up. And you can't take it back. Ever. And I don't love you anymore." _lie. _"and I never will, because you hurt me. And I do not forgive mistakes like that."

"Bella, let me finish." he says roughly. "Please. If there is anything I can do to make you forgive me, please tell me. Everything I did was a mistake. And I see that now. I just want you back. So badly. I love you so much, and I want to be there for you, especially now. I know you, he doesn't. You need me." Is this a joke. Every single doubt I had about leaving him flew out of my head. I cannot believe this. I actually can't.

"You fucking moron." I say. I want to punch him. I literally just want to hit him and never stop.

"How could you say that to me? _I need you? _Jesus fucking christ, I can not believe this."

"Neither can I." This time it's not Jacob's voice. It's Edward's. I'm instantly filled with joy and regret for ever leaving him. I turn, and just seeing his face makes me want to cry. He looks angry, but concern is also etched in there.

"Your cousin is sitting with Marcy, and I figured I'd come and see where you went." he says. He sounds angry and I actually do let a few tears fall.

"Yeah, okay, well let me finish up here and then you can leave." Jacob says. The tone in his voice makes me flinch back. It's filled with rage. Edward takes a couple of steps towards me, which pisses Jake off. He grabs my arm and Edward grabs the other one.

"Let her go." Edward says, complete rage boiling off of him in waves. Leah starts crying, and begs Jacob to just go home. Jacob's grip tightens, and I try to pull my arm away from him. He almost doesn't let me go, but Leah's cries stop him. He let's go and steps back.

"Just remember what I said, Bella." he says.

"Unlikely." I spit back. Edward's hand goes from my arm to my hand and he's pulling me out of the room. We reach the car and I see my cousin Lindsey standing by Marcy, the car door open. I hug Lindsey and say goodbye before I get in. The drive is almost silent, excluding the soft sounds of Marcy's snores.

"Edward." He doesn't answer me and I can tell that he's still angry. "Are you mad at me?" I have to ask. I just need to know.

"No." he says quietly. "I'm mad that you have a fucked up ex, and I'm mad that he affects you the way that he does. And I'm angry because I just want to kiss you but I can't because I'm so angry at him that I can't even kiss you and enjoy it." His features soften a bit as he looks towards me. I don't say anything back, because I understand. Except I just want him to hold me and I want him to make me feel better. I knew following Leah was a bad idea but I didn't trust my gut. And that makes me angry.

"I'm sorry." It comes out one notch above a whisper, but he still hears me. He grabs my hand and holds it tight, lacing our fingers together.

"Don't be." he replies.

When we get home the house is empty. My mom and Phil are staying at a hotel for the night as a second 'honeymoon.'

I pull Marcy out of her car seat and kiss her temple. She's so goddamn cute when she sleeps that it makes me want to cry. She's already starting to look so much like Carmen. The pucker of her lips is a big feature of Carmen's. It makes me hurt inside.

I know that it doesn't take a day to get over grief, but I wish it was that way.

After we put Marcy to bed, Edward follows me to my room. I don't even question it. I don't want to be parted from him, because I know I'll over-analyze everything that Jacob said, and I'll break down. I can only handle so many terrible things.

I have Edward unzip my dress before he goes to his room to change. I strip off the tight ass fabrics and pull a t-shirt and sweatpants out of my suitcase. I slip them on and crawl under the covers of my old full size bed. I haven't slept in this thing in the longest time. I hear Edward creep in and crawl under the covers with me. I feel my body relax as his arms wrap around me.

"I'm sorry. I feel like I took my anger out on you." He whispers. I shake my head and turn around in his arms.

"No, I'm sorry that I gave you a reason to be angry. I knew something like that was going to happen and I could have stopped it. But I didn't." he placed his forehead on mine.

"I can't be mad at you, literally ever. I tried but it didn't work. I don't blame you. If Victoria came waltzing back into my life I probably would have done the same thing you did. Some sick part of us wants to believe that something good still resides in the toxic people who destroyed our past." My heart dropped. I didn't even think about Victoria. I almost forgot about her. Edward could instantly tell that my mood had changed.

"What's wrong?" he asked, reaching up to smooth the furrow in my brow.

I sighed. "There isn't a possibility of her coming into your life, is there?" he smiles at me, and It's a brilliant smile. I don't want to look away from it.

"No. She's married to some guy she met. I don't know his name. I just know that she is. I know because I ran into her at a gala one of my clients hosted for some charity two years ago and she flaunted it in front of my face. there is no way she will come back into my life." I just nod but take a few minutes to reply.

"That makes me feel better." I say honestly. He nods at me and we lay there for a few moments. He kisses me gently on the lips, and I kiss him back. It's a mild kiss, but exhilarating none the less.

"I lied, I can kiss you when I'm angry and still enjoy it. You melt the anger out of my system." I kiss him again, just once. He starts to drift off, but something is still bothering me.

"Edward, when does it stop?" he opens his eyes and looks at me.

"When does what stop?" he asks.

"The grief." his arms tighten around me, and it brings us even closer than we already were.

"Because I keep thinking that maybe if I had spent more time with her, maybe if I had called more, or visited more often, this wouldn't have happened. Maybe this is karma for not taking advantage of what I had..." he stops me there, knowing that I am heading into a dark place.

"Bella. Nothing you could have done would have changed this. This, for whatever fucked up reason, it was meant to happen. All I know is that wishing and wanting and praying won't bring them back. Trust me, I've tried. I know you have as well. We have each other. We have wonderful friends. We have a beautiful baby girl that has been put in our care simply because they both absolutely loved and trusted us with their whole entire life. God knows why, because if you ask me, we're both pretty fucked up." I laugh and snuggle closer to him.

"But they did. Because they saw something in us that we couldn't see." he finishes at last. I sigh, content the he is in my life. I absolutely know that I couldn't have done this without him. He has become my rock. He always knows what to say to make me feel better. And I think that I'm falling in love with him. And I want to tell him. So I do.

"Edward...-"

"Let me stop you right there, because I know you're going to say thank you. And I can't let you say that anymore, because I should be the one thanking you. You have flipped my entire life upside down but in the best ways. Everything I have done these past few months has been centered around you. And I love you, Bella. I just wanted you to know that I am grateful that you're here, because you make every single day bearable." I almost laugh at the irony.

"Edward, I wasn't going to say thank you." he's silent for a moment. I can feel his heartbeat through his thin shirt, and it's beating hard.

"Oh. What were you going to say then?" his tone is nervous.

"I was going to say that I love you."

"Oh, well I like that much better than thank you. Say that from now on. Because I love you too." He says, and we laugh. we slowly drift off together, and I am convinced that there is nothing as blissful as this.

**A/N: soooooooooo... yeah. his chapter kind of wrote itself, really. **

**And I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while. I'm working on updating regularly. **

**And I wrote a short drabble Bella/Edward fic and I'm thinking about uploading it.**

**I'd rather wait until this is finished, but idk.**

**Also, this story will have 15 chapters, so we have 4 more chapters and an epilogue. I'm sad to see this coming to an end.**

**but alas!**

**anyway. I'm going to try and get some sleep.**

**Tell me if you knew that this was going to happen! some of you thought it would, but it's always nice to see what people think!**

**-Olive**


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